Promises: journey of the Unnamed soldier
by Wing staff-4
Summary: [Post AC] The dust of battle and chaos has settled. Everyone is at peace. However, something is upsetting the peaceful way of life... Please R and R.
1. Chapter 1

A/N

Dang, I forgot the disclaimer...

No fan who doesn't assume the identity of Square-Enix and/or its affiliates have the legal right or the right to call Final Fantasy 7 their own.

They do however, have copyrighted privileges concerning the story they personally created and own regarding this game. That includes me. :-)

Here goes, enjoy.

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Promises... The fundamental building block in which hope could be built upon. Promises are created to rekindle the fires of hope of those who need something to hold on to. Promises are powerful yet delicate. It is powerful enough for people to hope yet delicate enough to be easily broken.

This sadly, is partly true to a wanderer- a restless, remorseful soul who kept no promise fulfilled. Or so he thinks...

"Hey, you goin' to move your butt or are you goin' to keep muckin' around?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Barrett." with heavy feet, the poor man caught up alongside his impatient friend. He has many friends; friends who are more than capable of helping each other whether emotionally or physically. However, it still pained him. 'We lost someone dear to us... To me... Because of an unfulfilled promise...' He remembered his failure to prevent a tragic ending to that friend and his failure to uphold that tragic promise to her. He felt a sharp pain in his heart, just by thinking about it. But there are still more of those. Searching through the rubble of his mind, he found bits of broken promises from the heap. 'Tifa... I almost lost you in the reactor that... I promised... An empty... Promise...' he discarded that thought, hoping not to remember it ever again. He cared so much for his childhood friend and that memory remains as a deep scar, a constant reminder to the fool who broke his promises. It is such a deep scar that it adds more pain to his heart. He wanted to run away from all this pain, from his worthlesness, from his full capacity to hurt others because of him... And his promises.

"Hey, thanks a lot you guys! I'm glad both of you are here, you've been great helpers to me in the bar."

Yet he had to live with it...

"Eh, don't mention it, Tif. It's been kinda productive, workin' here and all, helpin' ya. How's Marlene?"

"Up in her room," she nods her head at the direction of the stairs. "Sleeping."

"Aryt, I'll jus' go an' check on her." Barrett trudged towards the set of stairs and proceded to ascend them.

"Don't wake her up!"

"I won't!", came a muffled reply.

Tifa smiled as she turned her head to face Cloud. He was staring into the emptiness of the floor. "Hey Cloud..."

Cloud didn't reply. He was lost in thought.

Tifa frowned and waved a hand in front of his face, "Hello?"

No answer.

Tifa took the moment to examine the guy. She was just a good friend to him yet she saw him differently. The weird hair, those beautiful blue eyes, an innocent face... She liked him a lot due to those. And when she got to know him much better, she walked a step further on her feelings for him. She cared for him a lot more than a bestfriend would; she cared deeply for him. She wanted to reach deeper into the facade of those eyes and help him, or if possible, let him know how she really feels about him but right now, she'll focus more on helping him with his 'problem with promises'. She has done much to help him, making her forget that the only thing left to do is for him to help himself. And that, she can't do. It's now up to him. A small grin started to spread on her face as a mischievous thought came across her mind. She held up a hand, over his head. She resisted the urge to touch his cheek for it may snap him out of his reverie, which she intended to do using a different approach. She found it surprisingly difficult but she managed. Her hand reached the target: a spike of his hair, and playfully tugged at it.

"Ow!"

She giggled, he was sooo cute! "Good evening Mr. Strife,"

"Huh? It's evening already? But-"

"Nah, I was just kidding." Tifa replied, stiffling another giggle.

"You like taking advantage of me" Cloud spoke, rubbing the part of his head which Tifa tugged at.

Tifa helped Cloud to a seat. Sitting down beside him, she spoke, "Well, you like being taken advantage of. Anyway, same problem again?"

Cloud looked down at his hands and sighed, "Yeah." He looked at Tifa, " You know, I really appreciate everything that you did to help me. Um, still have any advice?"

"I told you Cloud," she pressed a finger to his chest, "you're the only one left who has to do something about it."

"Yeah, I know..."

"You'll be able to work it out. I believe in you."

Cloud replied with a smile, 'With you by my side, I'm starting to believe in myself as well.' Cloud could not run away- away from this problem, away from the pain he feels and he can inflict because of this one person beside him. Her radiance melts away the gloom. Tifa is Cloud's inspiration, she is why Cloud has been able to face this. All of it is washed away by her simple smile. His feet would always lock in place, preventing him from running away. 'You believe in me... Tifa...' then suddenly, it dawned on him. He denies the fact that he likes her because right now, he loves her already. He realized that she is precious to him. He would do anything to ensure her happiness and safety. With this new realization came a new resolve: He will protect her. He promises to himself that he will protect her no matter what. And this time he will not break this promise or any other promise for that matter. Never shall he dwell in the broken glass of empty promises. "Thanks a lot Tif."

Tifa flashed him her sweetest smile. "Well, gotta fix the stuff you guys bought." She patted Cloud on the shoulder then proceded to stand up when suddenly, a firm yet gentle force held her hand, preventing her from leaving. She immediately glanced at her hand to find Cloud's hand around it. Then, she felt the force from his hand pull her close to him. Cloud caught her in a warm embrace. She felt her body relax as she hugged him back. 'Cloud... You're so warm...' For her, it felt so good and so... perfect... She wanted to fall asleep in his arms.

But what she did not know was that her own embrace had completely wiped all of Cloud's problems away...

Promises... The fundamental building block in which hope could be built upon. Promises are created to rekindle the fires of hope of those who need something to hold on to.

In this moment, Cloud now has someone to hold on to, to fight for, to promise to...

-  
A/N

Hello, this is my first time to write a FF7 fic. Haven't written anything in for around 2 years.. I'm getting rusty already. Anyway, Hope you guys enjoy it! 


	2. Chapter 2

Everything in the planet is at peace. People are rebuilding their homes and their cities, rebuilding dreams of a brighter future. For the Avalanche members, it was a peace that was well fought. Cloud and Tifa live happily in the Seventh Heaven. Strife delivery service is a booming success and with the rebuilding effort underway, Cloud is making more and more deliveries of much needed materials to and fro towns. Ever since he was finally able to face his problems, due in no small part of course, by Tifa, he has become more attached to her. Tifa, on the other hand, enjoys it and attaches herself to Cloud. They feel something sparkling between them but neither has the courage to admit it to the other.

It was fortunate for Denzel that he was able to find a lost family member in Kalm and right now, the boy is there, living with his grandfather. Every once in a while he gets to visit his family in the bar and even spend the night there if he wishes.

Barrett is staying there for a week to visit Marlene and after that, he is going to go back looking for more oil fields. Marlene is overjoyed having her father around for a while. She missed him so much and now that small gap inside her heart is filled. Her father is here, he promised her.

Yuffie is back in Wutai, helping her grandfather in the rebuilding efforts there. Cid is in Rocket town with Shera, focusing on the rebuilding effort... of his airship, not the town. This of course, made Nanaki sigh. Cid loves his airship so much that he would tear down some of the buildings in his town just to produce some materials for it. He cared less about the town but he still cared for it nonetheless. Nanaki shrugged it off and took the initiative to offer help in Rocket town as well as North Corel. This brought a grin on Cid's face.

Vincent is on an undisclosed location but we could tell that he is doing fine. Unlike the others who are focusing their efforts in the rebuilding of a new world, Vincent is focusing more on rebuilding over his past.

Everything was affected one way or another and the wounds are slowly closing.

The good deeds that Avalanche has done quickly spread around Kalm. People wished to become members of it for the sole purpose of a better world. Reeve saw this as an opportunity to open its doors to accept these selfless people and offer more assistance to the other towns. Soon, its popularity grew and with enough resources, Reeve decided to transform it into an army- a peace-keeping force. Its members numbered to over thousands and soon, this army spread from its home base in Kalm to Midgar, Fort Condor, Mideel, and eventually, Junon. The Avalanche army is now a powerful force.

Shinra is no longer a bustling corporation. It was reduced to a small company in Junon. It openly accepted only a small portion of the Avalanche army into Junon. The new president of Shinra told Reeve that they are more than capable of rebuilding Junon and refused Reeve's offer. Reeve however, insisted, leaving the president no choice but to accept only a few Avalanche soldiers and equipment.

Months have passed and a new and brighter peace settled itself among the hearts of the people. Junon became a large and prosperous city and this brought hope and smiles to the other towns.

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Standing behind the bar, the brunette smiled at herself as her establishment bustled with life. Satisfied customers left with a smile and a curt nod at her. She would say thanks to them and tell them to come back soon.

"Most definitely." Would be their reply.

Her bar is a haven for happiness and laughter. It is due to the mood set by the inhabitants of the bar. Now she wonders, 'when will he be back?' Her crimson eyes searched through the windows and out to the streets, trying to focus them upon a blonde-haired figure in a bike. 'Cloud's been out for two days already.' Cloud was asked to make a delivery to Kalm. He was bringing a bundle of steel pipes that would be used for the expanded drainage system project in Kalm. She remembered the time before he left, watching Cloud as he was about to leave. Surprisingly, he had a difficulty tying the long pipes to his bike. They would fall on his foot and he would gasp out curses, rubbing them in pain. Tifa would just giggle in amusement towards his carelessness.

Tifa even started daydreaming about a certain possibility that could've happened with the careless blonde: He was riding his bike in full speed towards his destination when the front end of the long pipes bend down and jam themselves on a rock. This in turn caused the bike to propel upwards along with its rider. The poor man would then get catapulted off his bike, screaming curses on his way down to the ground. It looked so real that Tifa giggled at the thought. It wasn't finished however, as her mind involuntarily concludes this silly daydream. The bike lands on top of him with a violent crash, breaking open his skull and crushing his bones. This wiped the smile off her face. She sighed, 'better stop daydreaming. Damn, where are you?' Ever since that intimate moment she shared with Cloud, she longed for him even more. She has grown more impatient whenever Cloud leaves for more than a day.

Her eyes sparkled when she found what she was looking for. That unmistakable bike, the unmistakable figure on the bike, the unmistakable spiky blonde hair... She watched intently with an upwards curve on her lips as the figure slowly parked his dusty contraption and dismounted it. He then pushed open the door and walked towards her. Their eyes locked on each other as the man took a seat in front of her.

He spoke cooly, "Give me whatever you got."

Tifa rested her chin on her hands, not breaking away eye contact. "Well, we've got a lot here.."

Cloud placed an arm on the bar and leaned forward. "Well then, give me the best you have."

She raised an eyebrow. "Coming right up." and left towards the kitchen.

Cloud watched her as she entered the kitchen. He didn't peel his eyes off the door and immediately, they locked on the woman as she came out with a glass in her hand. She walked towards him, placed the glass in front of him and resumed her old position.

"This one's on the house, boy." She winked.

Without shifting his position, he used his free hand to put the glass on his lips and drink the liquid contents. "Ah.. That was good.. I never knew water was your best drink." he smirked.

"Well, that's what's best for you, Cloud." She smiled widely and hugged him, "I'm glad you're back safe and-" her smile turned into a frown and released the hug. "What the hell happened to you? Why are your clothes torn?"

"Well, the weight of the steel pipes caused imbalance to my bike and then... Well, I fell."

Tifa choked down a laugh, "What's this? The great Cloud Strife, master swordsman and such... Needs training wheels on his bicycle?"

"That's not funny. I was wounded here when I fell." he replied, pointing towards his knee.

"Aww, you poor thing.."

"Mommy, it hurts... Help me mummiee." He whimpered, putting on an innocent child look.

Tifa found that face soo cute. She kissed his forehead, resisting the urge to pull his cheeks apart. "Aww, but you're a big boy now little Cloud, you can handle that on your own."

"Alright. See 'ya later, Ma." with that, he stood and ruffled Tifa's hair. "I'm glad to be back here.." he spoke, '..with you...' Then he walked towards the staircase and up the stairs.

For all of them, the future is certainly looking bright. 


	3. Chapter 3

There is silence- an uncomfortable calm. In a semi-dark hallway illuminated by lamps, silence runs rampant, hiding in every nook and cranny of the hall. Refurbished doors are but mere designs along the tight walls, hiding an endless possibility of unknowns. In this beautiful dungeon, footsteps dare to battle the creeping silence. A figure that seems oblivious to the suffocating walls treads along this path, gaze locked onto his destination: a set of double doors at the far-end of the hall. An all too familiar symbol is delicately imprinted on the doors. It is that symbol which he is most proud of; a symbol in which his loyalties lie. He procedes without much hesitation. 

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At the other side of the double doors, a biological form, resembling that of a human, sits without much comfort on a seemingly comfortable leather chair. The chair is facing the enormous windows, joining its occupant as he marvels at the prospering empire below. The only source of light in this room is a small lamp illuminating the papers on the desk behind him. On his left wrist is a gold watch which he fidgets with his right fingers, feeling the design of an exexutive luxury right at his fingertips. He then turns his chair around towards his desk just as a knock pierces through the solitude of his confinement. "Enter."

The double doors open without a sound, a tribute to the finely crafted wood and hinges. A man in his mid 30's enters the room and gently closes the door behind him, worried that the design imprinted on the doors might fall off if he closed it roughly. "Sir."

"I hope you bring to me an acceptable explanation as to why you disturb me in my solitude." The executive speaks without a hint of threat in his voice. He gestures towards a chair in front of his desk, "Sit."

The middle-aged man obliged. After composing himself in the chair, he began to speak, "Sir, our artificial farms have been tested and they are very productive. We do not need to worry much about food shortages for the coming event. We no longer need to trade food with the other towns."

"Yes, I'm glad that you are overseeing this project to your fullest extent. But I want to keep a healthy relationship with the other towns for a while longer. Let's continue our trade with them."

"Of course sir, this would make it possible for us to stockpile our produce. And if we fail to maintain trade with the others, we risk our motives being suspected."

"The foundation for the success of this plan relies on a good relationship from the start. We must keep our enemies close. What else do you bring? I am pleased to note that the economy of this city is in top shape. It would not be difficult for us to immediately harvest the necessary resources which- by the way, how goes the resource operation?"

"Ah, sir, that is another matter we may need to discuss immediately. Due to the geographical location of this area, we are only able to find sites to harvest various metals."

"Metals would be insufficient enough to sustain the effort."

"Sir, based on the analysis of some of our scientists, these metals can be broken down further to create different components. They may yet prove useful."

"Useful... Due to the fact that it has become a commodity."

"If it is possible, I request permission to set up underground dig sites that will connect to different areas with more resources."

"I do not wish to compromise the secrecy of this operation but if you must, I will allow you to do so within a 5 mile radius."

"But sir, in that disance, we will find nothing but metal!"

"The process of digging will take up much time; time that we do not have. Their forces are strengthening even as we speak. 5 miles is adequate enough. I want a swift and efficient operation. You have my blessing."

Tha man nodded and wrote some of the notes down into his notebook.

"How goes the industry?"

"It's the same sir. Without the necessary materials, productivity is at a minimum. Our inventory is not even enough to completely fill a closet. We need these resources badly."

"Tell your scientists to immediately begin researching about the components we can produce from the metals. There will come a time where in a constant supply of much needed materials will be denied to us. We must become more resourceful with what we have."

"It shall be done immediately. Oh and sir, the facility may take more time to be functioning optimally. But not to worry though, some of our more recent tests came out positive. This marks the success of the facility sir. We just need more time."

"Good. I am pleased with the progress we are making, Neil. I want everything to be running as soon as possible. You may take your leave now if you wish."

Neil stood from his chair, nodding. "My loyalty remains with you sir."

"I do hope so. You know, I do believe that loyalty does not allow even a small margin for error." the executive replied, turning his chair around to face the window. He fidgets his watch again, listening as the doors open and close as gently as before. 'Soon... Very soon...'

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"HA! It works! Damn thing's actually working again!"

The loud humming noise of a familiar engine echoes throughout a familiar workshop. Well, familiar to the current occupant, that is. Most of the time- correction, all of the time, the man bottles himself up in this large area, tweaking and putting together some weird contraption, asides from cursing and puffing smoke. Amidst the noise, his voice could be heard from within.

"Now that's how you oughta work!" the man is clearly in much joy. He inspects the engine more closely, searching for any loose parts and fixing them accordingly. With a huge grin on his face, he could not help but be pleased with his work. Unfortunately, as he uttered another 'HA!', the cigarette in his mouth fell into the inner workings of the engine. With a loud clang, it stopped.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

"You know, cursing will not fix that thing."

"Goddamn cigar! Where the fuck are you?" the man didn't hear the womanly voice from behind him. He continued fumbling for the culprit inside the engine. "Oh crap.."

The woman crossed her arms in front of her and tilted her head to one side. "So, what's the prob?"

"Fuckin' cigar..." He muttered, engrossed in the retrieval of the cigar.

The woman walked slowly towards the man, picked up a pair of pliers on the table beside him and pushed the man aside. With ease, she plucked out the cigar from the engine. Immediately afterwards, it began to run again. She held the cigar up in front of his face, "Told you that cursing will do nothing to fix it."

The man scratched his head, unaware that the oil on his hand is dyeing his hair, "Uh, thanks Shera." he then took the oil-covered cigar and pliers and placed them on the table.

"So, when are you leaving for Fort Condor?"

"Probably in two days. I have to get those parts I need while they are still in supply. Nanaki's coming along. Said he needs to get some stuff for the new farm in North Corel."

"Alright. You take care of yourself." with that, she turned and left.

He replied with a smirk.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Some dialogues in the story are spoken by random people. It does not necessarily mean that two people are speaking with each other unless the situation specifies so. Now, on to the story.

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Reeve gulped down the last drop of water in his plastic cup. 'There is going to be a short meeting today.' he had called for it. He rubbed his eyes and focused on his surroundings. He was in a wide corridor that was brightly illuminated. He watched as employees walked through the corridors, flashing him smiles and greeting him. He liked the atmosphere of this area a lot. It was an atmosphere of peace. 'It is because of the people.'

"Um, sir? Are you going to take a drink?"

Reeve followed his gaze to the owner of the voice. It was a woman in her early 30's. She stood behind him, holding a cup. Obviously, she was waiting for something. "Oh, I'm sorry." was all he managed to say. Apparently, he was in front of the water dispenser, preventing other people from benefitting from its contents. He immediately stepped aside, granting access to the woman. Oddly, he was fascinated by the bubbles bubbling in the water tank as water began to escape from it and into the cup in the woman's hand.

After her drink, she thanked Reeve and left towards the room on her right, completely oblivious to the man's eyes on her.

'It's amazing how I'm the supreme commander of the Avalanche military and yet I am not familiar with the workers in this building.' Gathering his folders, Reeve walked towards the conference room. It is a relatively short walk, just around the corner of the floor. Around him, the office is bustling with much energy and life. Employees walked around, holding papers, or cups of coffee. Their voices and the ringing of the phones contribute to a lot of noise pollution but somehow, they seem to understand each other.

He rounded the corner and entered the room to his left. Unsurprisingly for him, some of the lights were on, sheding itself on some areas and leaving some dark spots around the walls. It can be deceiving, how small the door is yet how large the room beyond it is. Reeve took a moment to survey his surroundings. No one was here yet; he was early. Only one large object greets the sight of those who enter: the oval conference table. Along it, one's gaze would shift to the chairs situated beside it then to the LCD screen on the wall to the far right.

Reeve began to move towards the far left end of the conference table. The carpeted floor muffled the sounds of his footsteps as he silently proceeded to take his seat. He settled down and looked around for a wall clock. He spotted it and read the time. '7:47am. Meeting starts at 8:15. I'm early.'He breathed in heavily and sighed.

After focusing his mind, he lay the folders on his desk and opened one of them. His eyes surfed around the paper in front of him, paying little attention to the pictures. Every now and then he glances at the photos for a better understanding of what is written. "Raven outpost.."

Just then, the door opened and a semi-obese looking man in gala military uniform came in. He saluted Reeve who in turn, stood up and saluted back. Then both men sat down. Reeve sat back on his seat while the man took a seat to the right of Reeve. "Ah, I see you've received our military proposition. Do you understand its importance?"

"Quite, General Karl," Reeve spoke, eyes still on the paper. "I fail to see any other importance other than a mid drop-off point between Fort Condor and Kalm. Why add military components?"

Yet again, the door opened and closed and the room acquired the presence of two more visitors. Both wore the same gala as General Karl however, one was wearing a white gala and the other was wearing a navy blue gala, identifying them as navy and air force Generals respectively. "I believe we can answer that question." the general in the navy blue gala spoke, then saluting the supreme commander alongside the admiral in the naval gala.

Reeve stood and returned the gesture, "General Salve, Admiral Zeth, please take a seat."

Salve was medium built, had black hair and black eyes. Zeth was much taller, more muscular. He had brown hair and white skin. His eyes were masked by the reflections made by his eyeglasses. The two men walked further into the room. The admiral took a seat beside General Karl while General Salve went to the LCD control room. He inserted a disc into the machine then took a seat opposite of Karl.

Reeve pushed a button on his console and ordered three cups of coffee to be brought immediately.

Salve cleared his throat then began to speak, "As I was saying, the main function of the outpost, as you perceive it, is a midway drop-point for goods between Kalm and Fort Condor. It provides a resting place and a relatively safe haven for traders and travellers."

Reeve immediately replied, "Yes, that's how I see it. However, is it necessary for it to be a military installation? I see nothing that would upset the peace we are experiencing."

"Times are pretty... Harsh right now. The planet is still in the process of healing its wounds and we are still fresh from the chaos and destruction. This peace we see... Can be deceiving..." it was the admiral who spoke. It was a logical explanation but illogical enough for the unfaltering Commander.

"The state in which the ruined cities lie and the disorderly citizens may provoke a feeling of insecurity among some lesser elements of society. Due to the harsh times, they will not hesitate to find weakpoints and take advantage of them. The Avalanche military is a young force, and even if its motives are good, the way it is spread out among cities may incite violence among others." Karl added, making sure that none of his pins were untidy.

The supreme commander sighed, placing his face into his palms. He stubbornly defended his point, "People look up to examples. Beefing up the firepower will not do good. With minimal firepower though, the Avalanche military can show them the value of peace. It will also show them that Avalanche has no hostile intent."

"It will show them that Avalanche is weak and can be easily taken care of. With the ongoing situation, people are afraid of what may happen. Peace is a facade; it is but a nervous silence that waits for the opportune moment before chaos is unleashed. What the people need is assurance. They need to know that they will be safe."

'Three against one' Reeve thought. 'Both approaches have their own pros and cons. Nothing productive will happen if this meeting is wasted on some debate.' He looked at each of the general officers then focused his gaze on the blank LCD screen. He pictured an aerial view of Kalm, Midgar, Junon, Fort Condor and Mideel. "Alright, I will accept your proposition. For now."

A knock was heard and a female attendant entered with the three cups of coffee. Reeve asked her to distribute them to the officers.

"How about you?" the navy blue-clad officer asked.

"I already had mine earlier. Thank you. Now, shall we continue?"

"Yes of course," Karl neatly placed his cup back on its plate. "Admiral, if you would please?"

Zeth picked up the remote from the table. He pointed it to the LCD projector and pushed a button. The LCD screen flickered with life, showing nothing but a blank, blue screen. On the upper right hand side of a screen is a small box with 'Output 1' written on it. Zeth pushed the button again and the same screen greeted them. Only this time, 'Output 2' was written on the box. He pushed the same button a third time and the screen turned black. The word 'Raven' was written on it in red. "Raven outpost," the admiral began, as the screen changed to reveal an overview look of the whole outpost. "It will be complete with lodging for exhausted traders and travellers. The area however, consists of only one-eights of the whole outpost. The remaining seven-eights will be used for military purposes."

Karl then spoke, "We have completed the construction of the lodging and it can be used right now. For the military aspect, we only have a small medical facility and two barracks. Currently, we have two hundred and seventy soldiers in there. There are adequate facilities for their training like a firing range, obstacle course, etc." The screen flashed actual shots of the completed buildings. "Construction of helipads for the choppers have begun yesterday. But until then, supplies will be transported by land."

Reeve nodded, 'So much for the debate, they have already started anyway.' He continued to watch the screen. As he watched it, one picture caught his eye. In the picture were three soldiers talking in the foreground. Behind them was the firing range, built using a sturdy tent. It looked simple yet it was surprisingly durable. But what really caught his eye was a figure that was barely noticeable in the background. It was an all too familiar figure. He leaned forward and squinted in an attempt to get a better view. He smiled after a while, clearly not forgetting the familiar long black hair, the mysterious face, the golden claw, and the red cape. 'Vincent...'

"In fact, another convoy of supplies are about to leave in a few minutes. They are carrying some munitions to the outpost." Karl added.

"How about the other buildings, when will they be completed?"

It was Salve's turn to speak, "At the rate we're going? Probably in two to three months. I'm going to contact the supplier in Mideel after the meeting, follow up the next shipment of building materials."

"Alright, keep me posted." Reeve stood up and immediately, the three general officers followed suit. They saluted each other before leaving the room. Zeth shut off the LCD and retrieved the disc before leaving.

As soon as the last person left, two figures stepped out from a large shadow in the room. Both wore almost the same clothes as General Salve, however, one of the two figures wore it untidily. "So, Raven outpost is near completion eh? Wehehell!" He looked at his partner, expecting a reply.

The other figure wiped some of the dirt on his shades with a handkerchief then put them back on. He didn't utter a word.

"Oh well, you know what we're supposed to do." Placing his hands behind his head, he started to walk out of the room.

The other man trailed closely behind, following his red-haired companion.

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The barren lands have a ghastly feel as small dustballs and the dust-polluted sand run rampant over it. Amidst the natural noise of the environment, man-made noises join in the party of annoying worthlessness. The audible sound of a motor engine warns whatever creature in front of it to move away before its owner makes its presence known. Soon enough, a dark-green colored truck appears. Behind it, three more replicas of the object trail closely behind. The lead and the last trucks each had fourteen occupants. A driver, a technical sergeant, and twelve soldiers at the back, facing each other.

The two trucks in the middle are the important ones to consider. They carry valuable cargo which take up most of the space. Due to those, only four soldiers sit beside the bulky crates. But like the others, there is a driver and a passenger in the cab. A soldier in both the lead and the last trucks would usually glance in the direction of the rolling VIPs to ensure their safety. Others, on the other hand, are too lazy to keep watch and leave their comrades to do the work for them.

One of the soldiers in the lead truck spoke, breaking the stares of the men from each other, "Here again, babysitting some shit-assed guns."

Another guy in the truck commented, "Heh, guess that's what we're worth dude, just babysittin', back and forth, back and forth... But hell, say this outpost needed the munitions. I say, what the fuck? We've got around two hundred buddies there with enough firepower to conquer Midgar."

"Damn, how much further?" a young looking soldier asked.

The soldier sitting behind the driver knocked on the cab. Leaning as close as possible to the window, he spoke loudly to combat the roaring engine of the truck, "Hey! How much longer's the ride?".

A reply came in an equally loud tone, "We just need to pass over four more hills before we can see Raven outpost! ETA is..." he quickly glanced at his watch, "fourty five minutes!"

The soldier turned back to his fellow soldiers, "Fourty five minutes, kiddos."

"Damn!"

"Hell, I joined Avalanche so that I can see some action! And look where I am right now, in this hellhole scrap of a truck, babysitting some stuff!"

"You'll get your chance soon."

"Soon? Shit..."

"Personally, I joined Avalanche to help. I wanted a better life for this planet and I wanted my family to live happily in peace. So when the recruitment center opened up, I jumped at the opportunity."

"Gee, wish I was like 'ya."

"Goddamit Lerner, you've got abolutely no hope becoming a saint. Look at yourself, you're wasted and shit."

"Hey, watch your mouth!"

"I just want to get it over with."

The men sat in silence, feeling the roughness of the path being treaded upon and staring again at each other.

"Uh, guys, what the hell is that?" One man broke the silence, pointing at a small, round object hurtling towards them at high speed. The other soldiers opposite him turned around as far as their spine and neck can turn to check the mysterious object.

"OH SHIT! RPG!" with that yell, the soldiers scrambled to jump off the truck but it was too late. The rocket hit the truck in full force, exploding on the unfortunate occupants and engulfing the truck in flames. Scrap metal scattered around the place, some even denting the other trucks. The force and the impact toppled the truck over to its side, a burning wreck. All fourteen men perished in an instant.

The second truck was unable to stop in time and it smashed right into the overturned truck. A piece of metal went right through the windshield and impaled the driver. The others stopped in an instant and the men jumped down to protect the cargo.

Since one technical sergeant died in the lead truck, the remaining field officer took charge. He was determined to prove himself, determined to ensure the cargoes' safety, determined to bring his men home in one piece. With a thunderous voice, he made his importance known among his men, "ORGANIZE YOURSELVES! DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!"

Another deafening explosion and the last truck met the same fate as the first truck. Nine men did not make it out of the blast. With the discipline instilled through their rigorous training, the remaining survivors attempted to reorganize their chaotic lines as the sergeant wished.

Within seconds, whizzing sounds are heard, followed by the sounds of metal hitting flesh and metal hitting metal. Due to the chaos, a handful of men dropped instantly. The rest took cover behind the trucks along with the sergeant, covering themselves from the assailants. They checked their rifles, switched the safety off and loaded the magazines. They were ready to fight back. But to their horror, a problem surfaced:

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY SARGE!"

"WE DON'T KNOW NO SHIT PRIVATE! NOW UNLESS YOU WANNA EAT DIRT, YOU'RE GONNA KEEP YOUR GODDAM HEAD DOWN!"

Bullets kept on raining and bodies were soaked in blood. Even some of those who were covering themselves behind the trucks were killed by a salvo.

"THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

The sounds of pain, moaning and screaming, along with the sounds of the dead horribly drain the surviving men of their morale. As more and more of their comrades succumb to the hell being spat at them, their wills broke and they began to fire their guns blindly everywhere, hoping to hit somebody- anybody, even just one asshole... Just one... God save them... Their futile attempts do nothing to hold whatever hope they have.

The sergeant watched helplessly as his men drop dead. He noticed that he is the only one left taking cover behind the second truck. He scans around desperately for any movement and luckily for him, he spots five of his men huddled together, covering and firing blindly behind the fourth truck. With sweaty palms, he clutched his rifle and hesitated for a moment before making a mad dash towards his men. He must get to them immediately.

The intensity of the bullet fire increased as he got closer to them. "HOLD YOUR FIRE DAMMIT! HOLD YOUR FIRE! YOU'RE WASTING AMMO ON NOTHING!"

"I DON' WANNA DIE SARGE! I DON' WANNA DIE!" fear is much evident on their faces.

"SUPPRESS THEM! I'M COMING OVER!" the sergeant navigated around the numerous dead bodies, eyes focused on the five desperate soldiers.

"SIR WE HAVE NO FIRING POINT! THEY'RE FUCKING EVERYWHERE!"

"POP SOME SMOKE!" the officer yelled.

"NO SMOKE! JUST FRAGS!"

The fear grew stronger as bullets ripped through one of the men. He slumped to the ground.

"GODDAMIT, I'M GONNA GET YOUR SORRY ASSES OUT OF HERE IN ONE PIECE NOW SUPPRESS THE MOTHERFUCKERS, I'M COMING OVER!"

The remaining four nodded and fired everywhere, hoping that their leader will arrive in time.

The sergeant sprinted immediately. As he neared them, he watched in horror as a bullet passes through the head of another man, followed by a rocket. The blast knocked him back to the ground. He struggled to stand yet he found much difficulty in doing so. Fighting the shellshock, he looked back at the four men. They were no longer there. Pain suddenly kicked in, attacking his chest. When he looked at it he realized that a shrapnel had lodged itself inside his chest. Blood began rise up to his mouth.

Finally, everything stopped. The rain of bullets ceased to lash at them- at him. It was horribly peaceful. He looked around at the remnants of what used to be a convoy. Nothing stood except for a dead soldier leaning on one of the trucks. He could hear the soft moans of the dying, peaceful and calm yet full of pain and fear. He was mad at himself for being unable to do something. He wanted to protect his men, and bring them home, yet he failed.

Finding it difficult to breathe, the officer struggled to undo the straps of his helmet. He let it fall off his head. He knew he was going to suffer the same fate as everyone else that day. It was amazing how fourty soldiers and four trucks were erased in half an hour. He coughed up blood and he breathed with much difficulty. He could feel the shrapnel scraping on his lungs with every breath.

Then he felt a sharp, piercing pressure on his forehead. The nerves were unable to sense the pain and everything instantly became black. It was peaceful...

-  
Okay, there you go! There will be more action soon. Please R and R and no flames please! I'm not sure if you guys enjoy it or not, so please. Thanks! I'm going to update as long as reviews come in. Constructive criticism is most definitely welcomed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Any word?" 

"Not yet sir. The supplies were due to arrive three hours ago."

For three days, the presence of the red-cloaked man graced the soldiers in the outpost. Vincent came to oversee this project of Reeve and his general officers. Well actually, it was a project of the general officers. Seeing nothing much to do, he decided to stay for a bit and probably even train the soldiers in marksmanship. Seventeen men have already learned much during the course of Vincent's stay and their skills greatly improved.

More and more soldiers turned to Vincent for assistance in having much better accuracy. And soon enough, the ex-Turk bacame the talk of the town. He was already a respected leader and a role model for some younger soldiers. And to think that it would be difficult for him to mend together his broken past and move on.

He dwelt on the past for too long, blinding his eyes towards the future.

Now, he needed to focus on the present. Gunshots crackle inside the firing range, reverberating around the concrete buildings. Some of the occupants did not complain about the noise for they knew far too well that this would benefit them for their safety. They however, are baffled as to why the firing range must be erected near their peaceful dwelling place. For Vincent, his ears readjusted themselves to hear the sounds as a normal traveller would. Years of hearing gunshots for almost everyday became uncommon for his ears and he too began to wonder. 'These people have a point though.'

He entered the tent. A rack of practice rifles was neatly hung on a wooden plank to his right. Twelve aisles were arranged parallel to each other to his left. Four of the soldiers he trained yesterday were there, practicing. Seven more recruits lined up the rest of the aisles, firing away to their hearts' content. Vincent walked further inside and stood back, watching the men. There were many different wooden targets, the shape of the upper half of a human, placed on the two hundred-yard grass. 'Sitting ducks' he thought.

Instead of killing his time on doing nothing, he retrieved a rifle from the rack. He then went to the table and picked up two magazines. He went over to the last, empty aisle and set the rifle to semi-auto. He loaded one magazine and switched the safety off. He took aim and fired at the eight targets closest to him. Eight targets, eight shots, eight headshots. It was far too easy for the skilled marksman.

He focused his attention next on three targets which were at the farthest end of the field. He did not need to calculate anything. First, he estimated the distance of each target, then he estimated the wind speed and direction. After that, he adjusted his aim accordingly. He fired, hitting the first target on the chest. He did the same for the second target and the bullet went a bit higher than the first. The last shot hit the third target's head.

For a man with his skill, even a pistol can turn into a deadly sniper rifle in his hands.

Vincent heard a familiar beeping melody coming from his pocket. He switched the safety on then unloaded the magazine from the rifle. He neatly placed the rifle and mag on the table in front of him and stepped out of the aisle. He fumbled in his pocket for his PHS and answered it. "Hello?" he greeted blankly.

The voice on the other line responded but due to the noise the gunshots were making, Vincent was not able to hear it. He left the firing range to escape the unnecessary noise interrupting his call. He spoke again into the receiver, "Hello?"

"Been in the firing range now, did we?" a man's voice greeted from the other line.

A faint smile crossed his lips, "Hello Reeve."

The man chuckled, "Ah Vincent, I knew it. Anyway, I believe that we have a shipment of munitions en route to Raven. Have you received word of its arrival?"

"Yes, I am aware of the shipment however, I have received no report regarding its present location."

"Okay. Just hours ago, I lost contact with the convoy and I do not know what happened to it."

"It's normal. The weather conditions in the area they are travelling is a big hindrance to communications. Probably, they were just delayed by minor difficulties."

The line was silent for a while before Reeve started to speak. "Alright, you take care of yourself. Contact me when they arrive. Good day."

"Good day to you too." with that, he shut the phone, placed it in his pocket, and re-entered the firing range.

A slight breeze greeted the ex-Turk, grabbing on to his red cape as it passed through. The cape was so light that it flutters even at the slightest of breezes yet it is hard enough to withstand bullets. He returned to his aisle only to find it occupied. A young man, roughly around sixteen years of age, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and wearing Avalanche military lower fats was practicing his aim. The red-cloaked man peered over to the boy and found the rifle he used to be untouched. He then watched intently as the boy reloaded then fired at the targets which were hidden behind obstacles.

The marksman watched as all of the shots missed, yet it didn't discourage the boy. The boy kept on firing, hoping to improve his missed shots. Vincent smiled and remembered the story of a once sixteen year old boy who joined SOLDIER to prove his worth and protect those he loved... and to protect a certain fifteen year old girl whom he cared deeply for.

Vincent approached the young man. Without saying a word, he helped the boy in holding the rifle properly. After the boy was settled with the unfamiliar feel of the rifle's new position, Vincent began to patiently tutor the young man.

A few moments had passed before the boy got the hang of it. Eventually, his accuracy had improved. The boy thanked his mentor before practicing some more. Vincent gave the boy a light pat on his back, satisfied with what he's done. He left the range and began to walk to the supply warehouse. It was a short walk, probably five minutes away from the firing range.

Dusk was arriving soon and the activity of soldiers and jeeps around the outpost slightly diminished. He walked alongside the long, high-security fence and watched the view beyond it. It was a marvelous expanse of nothingness. He watched as the sun gleamed brightly into his eyes, low enough to touch the tallest building in the outpost. He shifted his gaze on the path he is traversing, catching a glimpse of two military policemen halting a SUV containing atraveller and his family who were seeking refuge in the outpost.

Vincent continued to walk in silence, hearing the engine of the SUV and the sound of rubber crushing small rocks on the asphaulted road as it made its way towards the lodging area.

Finally, he arrived at the supply warehouse. Four soldiers were there, doing an inventory check. He attracted the attention of one of the guards and asked, "Still no word?"

The guard simply shook his head and looked down at the ground, "They should've been here hours ago sir. We fear the worst."

Vincent frowned, "It is quite unusual, a trip from Kalm to here would usually take four hours."

"And this is way too long to be a delay sir," the man replied.

Vincent turned and left. He knew what to do.

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"Tifa, when is Denzel coming?"

Tifa was washing some of the dishes she and Marlene used when they ate lunch. She barely noticed the presence of the young girl.

"Tifa?"

"Oh, sorry Marlene, um, what were you asking again?" she stopped and looked at the child.

"I was just wondering when Denzel is coming. Tifa do you know?"

Tifa looked at the child's eyes. It sparkled with anxiety and joy, "I just spoke with his grandfather. He said that they will be coming in an hour."

Marlene sighed.

"Can't wait?"

The little girl nodded. Denzel has been with his grandfather for over a month already and she missed him. They all missed him and she knew that Denzel missed them just as much. They were already his family.

"He'll come soon, just be patient for a little while longer, okay?" Tifa knew that it was utterly impossible to ask for 'patience' from a child of Marlene's age since their little bodies are full of unused energy.

"Okay," Marlene murmured then left the room with heavy footsteps.

Tifa smiled and returned to her work. The feel of running water on her skin soothed her tensed muscles, making her hands feel fresh. After cleaning up the area and washing her hands, she lightly brushed them against each other. She smiled as she remembered how Cloud loved her hands. She would catch him looking at them or trying to touch them. Secretly, she would allow him to do so. Cloud never knew of this.

Yet again, heavy footsteps could be heard approaching her, "Teefaaaa, what time is Denzel comeeeeng?"

"Sooooon, sweetiee." Tifa replied, mimicking the girl's voice.

"But they're taking so looong!" she whined.

"I told you Marlene that he'll arrive in about an hour. Only fifteen minutes have passed."

Time slows down if you are not enjoying. For Marlene, her enjoyment is to see and play with Denzel again. She figured that Tifa can do nothing more so she left the room with a sigh and with heavy footsteps- again.

Tifa smiled inwardly and took a seat on one of the chairs. She wondered if she too was as impatient as Marlene whenever Cloud is gone. She blushed when she thought of herself acting almost the same way. She hoped that it wasn't true for if it was, she would've been making a fool of herself. 'Well, friends know you more than you do...' she blushed even more as she remembered that Cloud is her friend. As a matter of fact, a childhood friend.

Time slowed down for Tifa as well. Her enjoyment was to be with her Cloud...

She stood up and left the kitchen. He peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a small figure sitting on the stairs, staring at the window.

She felt the figure look at her and she immediately spoke before the figure could utter a word, "Denzel will arrive shortly Marlene, just wait for a while longer okay?"

"But you already said that ages ago!"

"No I didn't!" she smiled, turning towards the figure and placing her hands on her hips. "I said that seven minutes ago."

"No, it was ages and ages ago! I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for years!"

"And I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for an hour!" she smiled.

Marlene poked her tongue at her. "Beh!"

Tifa did the same to Marlene, rolling her eyes.

The little girl found it amusing and giggled, "Do that again!"

The older woman crouched in front of the little girl and did it again.

"That wasn't as funny as earlier Tifa." the girl snorted, trying desperately to contain her laughter.

"Oh yeah?" Tifa made another face. Marlene broke and burst out laughing.

She then attempted to copy the face Tifa made. She instead, made a much funnier face. Both girls laughed.

"Here's... something... funnier.." Tifa spoke in between laughs. She then positioned her fingers on her face but had to stop when a short laugh escaped her lips. After that, she proceded to do the 'ultimate' face.

Marlene laughed hard. Tifa looked like a puppy with a sagging face. "That... was so... was so... fun..ny! Teach... teach me... to do that!"

The opening and closing of the door interrupted their enjoyment. They instantly stopped, looking at the man standing beside the doorway. He was somewhat shocked, with one raised eyebrow. He was gaping at the two.

Tifa blushed furiously when she realized that she was caught wearing 'The Face' and she immediately looked away.

The child perked up a little and ran towards the man, "Cloud!"

"Hey, Marlene, hey Tif," he spoke monotonously, catching the child in his arms.

"You should have seen Tifa, Cloud!" she giggled, "She was funny! Especially with all those cool faces she made! You should've seen them!"

"Marlene!" came a squeal from the stairs.

Cloud slowly smiled at the little girl, "Yeah, so I've known..." he then released her. "Let me show you something..." Cloud joined in, and made a face of his own.

The child giggled, "Nah, Tifa's are much funnier."

The shadows covering Tifa's face masked her blush from Cloud. She chuckled at the face the blonde made. It was one of those rare Cloud moments.

Marlene pulled Cloud towards Tifa, asking her to show Cloud those faces again. Tifa of course, replied with no's.

Before Marlene could protest, the door opened and closed again, inviting two people into the bar. "Denzel!" the child dropped everything and ran towards the newcomers, hugging a small boy.

Denzel grinned. He was overjoyed to see his Seventh Heaven family again.

Cloud and Tifa stood up straight and greeted Denzel's grandfather. The old man greeted them back. He let Denzel stay in Seventh Heaven for a couple of days and be with the people in here. Cloud came over and picked up Denzel's bags and excusing himself, he brought them to the children's room.

Tifa invited Denzel's grandfather to stay at least for dinner.

He accepted after his grandson forced him to stay.

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Vincent walked through the desert. Somehow, he sensed a disturbance somewhere out there, beyond the horizon.

He travelled for more than thirty minutes on foot yet fatigue, hunger and thirst have not yet begun their assault. After a long and uneventful walk, Vincent found a large boulder sitting on the middle of the land. It could serve as a good vantage point to hopefully scan for the missing men and supplies. It took him only three minutes to get to the boulder yet for him, it seemed like an eternity.

He climbed the boulder with no difficulty, searching for its tallest point. He stood there, looking around, observing. It was then that he noticed that the sky had a reddish-orange tint and half of the sun is peeking over the horizon.

He needed to seek refuge fast; deserts have a nasty habit of turning dangerously cold at night. Due to the slowly enveloping darkness, Vincent saw nothing that would help him in his search. He will wait until morning comes before he resumes.

For now, he must find a place to stay for the night. He dropped down from the boulder and was fortunate enough to find a hole on it, large enough for a human to crawl through. It was surprisingly cozy inside and it was barely illuminated. Vincent leaned on the round wall and covered himself with his cloak. If the men were still alive, they would have adequate equipment to keep themselves warm.

He kept watch for a few minutes and when he decided that it was safe, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

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In the warmth of the dining table, five people ate, enjoying each others' company as well as the food. Roast chicken was usually not on the daily menu but since it was a special dinner with a special guest, it wouldn't hurt to have a special meal as well.

Everyone didn't speak much for they enjoyed the good food.

The eldest among the five spoke, "I really appreciate everything you've done for Denzel."

The woman replied, "It's no problem, Denzel is a strong boy. It's hard to believe everything he's gone through though. For a boy his age, they usually would have lifelong traumas after everything that has happened."

The blonde haired man added, "Me neither," putting a piece of the chicken and some mashed potatoes in his mouth.

The old man looked at the two children. They were starting to play with their food. The little boy had a grin on his face for all the compliments he's received.

"Hey you two, stop playing with your food!"

"But Tifa, we won't waste a single tiny piece. It's really good! Denzel loves it too, isn't that right?"

"Yes Tifa. It's good so, so you shouldn't worry about us wasting it."

Tifa sighed, 'These kids are cajoling me...'

A hand was gently placed on her shoulder, "Don't worry Tif. The food is really good."

"Yes, Ms. Lockheart. This is quite exceptional cooking. I've never tasted chicken this good since... well, since..." the old man's face fell, "since my wife passed away..."

The table fell silent. Only the tiny giggles of the two children could be heard.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I wish I knew..." Tifa sympathized.

Cloud also apologized softly.

The man smiled again, "Ah, nothing to be sorry about, folks. In fact, I should be thanking you, Ms. Lockheart. Because of you, I know that my wife is around here, with us. And she made herself known by helping you in your cooking."

Tifa flushed and was slightly uneasy. Having a ghost beside you as you were all alone cooking is pretty unnerving. She changed the topic, "Well, I'm just glad that Denzel has found a surviving relative. He doesn't have to feel lonely anymore."

Marlene spoke, "Hey! How about me? I've been with Denzel all this time, helping him." she frowned.

Tifa smiled, "Yes, you've been a great help to Denzel too. And don't talk with your mouth full! It's unethical."

"What's unethical?"

"Rude."

"Rude's unethical?"

"Well, the term rude is unethical but not Rude, as in Rude, the guy with the shades." Tifa made two circles with her thumb and forefingers and put them over her eyes, trying to make them look like some sort of spectacles.

"Oh... So is Rude rude?"

"I honestly don't know sweetiee."

"Okay."

The old man chuckled, "You'd make a good mother, Ms. Lockheart."

"Yes, Tifa is like a mom to Marlene and myself grandpa."

"Thank you Denzel."

"The four of you make a good family." The old man spoke. He turned to Cloud, "Mr. Strife,"

Cloud looked up into the eyes of the aged man.

"keep your family together. You will have no one but each other to hold on to and love. Being the patriarch of the household, keep them safe and take very good care of them. Never let it fall apart. Protect them."

"I will... I promise..."

Tifa put up a sweet smile, 'Finally, he's really made peace with his past...'

Everyone was satisfied with their supper and they continued to chat away. Only when the two children yawned did they decide that it was late.

Once again, they forced the old man to spend the night with them. Even Denzel's plea to let his grandfather stay for the night was met with rejection.

With one last attempt, Cloud spoke, "Sir, it is way too late in the night. At this time of the hour, there are numerous unknown dangers out there. Denzel needs you. He has lost a lot of people in his life already and he does not want to lose the only biological relative he has left. Please.."

After pondering for a moment, he finally smiled and agreed, "Oh, alright. But do not make breakfast for me tomorrow. I've asked too much from you already."

"Well, that's what family is for right?"

The old man nodded.

"You may use my room for the night." Cloud then escorted the man into his bedroom and allowed him to lie on his bed. "I'll just sleep downstairs so don't worry about me." and with that, he left, shutting the door gently behind him.

Cloud lazily descended the stairs. Tifa had bought a comfy sofa and he planned to sleep there. He stopped when a figure suddenly blocked his path.

"Cloud! What are you doing down here? I thought you were sleeping!" the soft voice spoke.

"You know, I was about to ask you the same thing."

"I was cleaning the dining table, if you wanna know."

"I made gramps use my room for the time being so I'm going to sleep on the sofa you bought."

"Oh..." Tifa approached him, "I've missed you so much Cloud," she whispered. "I'm glad that you're back."

Cloud smiled and accompanied her to check on the children. After being satisfied that the two were already asleep, Cloud brought the yawning Tifa into her bedroom.

Tifa sat on the edge of her bed and motioned for Cloud to come over. "Cloud, how long are you going to stay here with us?"

"It depends... I hope I could stay for a long time. It really depends on the job orders." Cloud examined her, "You're way too exhausted Tif."

"Been stressed lately."

Cloud sighed. He wanted to do something to relieve her stress. A thought crossed his mind but he was unsure as to how Tifa would react. Right now, he didn't care. All he wanted was to make his bestfriend feel better. 'Here goes nothing.' he sat beside her, turned her back to him and began to give her a massage. "I'm sorry, hope this would help though."

Tifa didn't reply. Her relaxed breathing and soft moans told Cloud that he was doing a good job.

After his work, Cloud examined the face of his childhood friend. It showed more signs of relaxation. He tucked Tifa into the bed, "There, hope that will give you a good sleep."

Tifa smiled. She hoped that Cloud will always be with her like this.

Cloud leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead but much to his dismay, Tifa tilted her head upwards. Cloud stopped in mid-air, their faces close to each other. "What's wrong?"

Tifa didn't say anything. She simply stared into Cloud's eyes.

"Tifa?" he stared back into her eyes. There is a look of longing in them.

What Tifa did next totally shocked Cloud. With lightning speed, she pecked him on the lips, covered her head with the blankets and turned her back to him, blushing madly.

Like a zombie, the wide-eyed Cloud stood slowly and started to walk out of the woman's room.

He was about to reach the door knob when a soft voice stopped him, "Cloud,"

He turned back at the young woman. She was still curled in a fetal position, her entire body and head were covered in the blanket.

From under the sheets, her voice found its way out, "Stay with me..."

He turned back to the door, his eyes on the doorknob. He heard the ruffling of the bed sheet behind him and sensed the girl sitting up, looking in his direction.

"Please... I.. Don't want to be alone... Cloud..."

Cloud closed his eyes. After a while, he opened the door, "I'll be right back." he then stepped outside and gently shut the door behind him.

Tifa smiled, anxiously waiting for the door to open.

She waited and waited and waited, but the door did not open. The smile started to fade from her face.

Just when she has given up hope, the door slowly swung open. She grinned in excitement. Cloud did come back but this time, he was carrying a pillow, a blanket, and a sleeping bag.

"Sorry, to keep you waiting; I couldn't find my sleeping bag."

"It's alright."

Cloud then walked over to the side of her bed and set up his makeshift bed on the floor. Once he's settled down, Tifa frowned. She hoped that Cloud would stay beside her in bed rather than have difficulty sleeping on the floor.

"Cloud," she spoke.

"Yes Tif?"

Tifa opened her mouth but nothing came out. She wanted Cloud to sleep beside her but she felt apprehensive. Cloud might leave her if she asked. "Goodnight and sweetdreams."

The blonde looked back at her, and smiled. "Goodnight and sweetdreams to you too."

Tifa sighed, she had to be contented. At least Cloud was with her. She closed her eyes and began to drift into one of the best sleep she's had in a long time.

Suddenly, her roommate woke her up, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

"Huh?"

"Well Tif, you're so sweet and all, so, there's no question that bed bugs may find you to be a tasty treat."

Tifa grew slightly mad that her inconsiderate roommate would wake her for nothing. She immediately grabbed a pillow beside her and tossed it with force towards the man lying on the floor. She did not bother to look as the pillow hit the poor man with crushing force.

"Augh!"

That was all she needed to hear. She smirked and closed her eyes.

"Thanks for the pillow Tif.. Smells good too..."

"Shut up and go to sleep Cloud." She smiled, gently touching her lips.

This time, she finally drifted into the best sleep she's had in a long time.

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A/N Characters seem OOC to me though, I apologize for that. Anyway, please read and review. That's all I ask in return. Hehehe. Enjoy.

Oh and I did not give Denzel's grandpa a name. IF just in case, in future FF7 stuff by Square, Denzel really has a grandpa, then there is a big chance that the name I'll give is totally different from the name Square will give. I'm just trying to be on the safe side. There you go, so please R and R.


	6. Chapter 6

Sunlight slowly creeped into the faintly illuminated room. As silent and as gentle as a breeze, it peeped into the room, penetrated the window, and found its resting place on a white face with blonde hair.

The sunlight may not be as gentle as it was thought to have been; its light gave the blonde hair a golden glow and the face started to frown. Slowly, the two eyelids began to open. As the mako blue eyes exposed itself carelessly, the sunlight took advantage of this and unleashed its uncouth behavior on the defenseless blue pearls.

In response, the eyelids snapped shut and the face turned to its side, protecting its weakened organs. It was still frowning but this time, it is not only due to the sunlight, it is also a direct result of a recent event which occured in the subconscious mind as it rested during the night.

Cloud opened his eyes once again. He was enjoying a dream about him and Tifa until the sunlight rudely interrupted it, waking him up. Now it is nearly impossible to go to sleep and dream about it again. Cloud just settled down and started daydreaming about it. Oh wait a minute, what is that 'it'? Dreams have a habit of instantly fleeing from your mind when you wake up. And Cloud was now an unfortunate victim of it. All he remembered was him and Tifa and nothing else. He wished it would be that way- him and Tifa together, forever. But alas, it was but a dream- a dream that vanishes from his memory. He only wished that Tifa will never vanish as well.

By the way, who will take care of Marlene and Denzel just in case? He has absolutely no trait of a loving mother in him, much less a loving father.

His eyes observed the strange surroundings around him. Everything seemed so... Colorful and lively... It was very... Feminine. It was then that it struck him: he was in Tifa's room. He also remembered where he was laying. Sensing the obvious, he lifted the upper half of his body using his elbows as support and looked onto the bed beside him. Just as he thought, the object of his secret affection lay there. She was facing him, eyes closed and sleeping like an angel. The covers were down to the woman's hips, exposing the smooth skin of her arms.

Cloud gently ran his palm on her arm and found it cold to the touch. It seems that the cold attached itself on Tifa's arms, enjoying its smoothness. Cloud pulled the sheet and the comforter up to her neck. When he was satisfied that Tifa looked comfortable, he lay back down. He then remembered that he was laying on the pillow Tifa tossed at him the night before. He pulled the object out from under him and smelled it. It still had that sweet, feminine scent of Tifa on it. It, without doubt, was one of the reasons for his good night's sleep. 'Well, it's about time Tifa had this back.' he smelled it one last time. This time however, he noticed something different. Aside from that very attractive scent, he had defiled its sacredness through the mixture of his own scent.

For Cloud, this was totally unacceptable- especially to an unworthy person such as himself. He will, in no way, return that pillow, along with his filth, to a wonderful and beautiful woman such as Tifa. 'Mental note: Wash the pillow before returning.' He sighed and placed it beside him.

He then put his hands behind his head and toured his eyes around the room. Anything that does not fit, as a rule, would usually stand out. This was very much true, especially to a pile of newspapers he spots on a corner. Out of curiosity, he stood up and walked towards the pile of misfits.

'That's odd, Tifa never read newspapers...'

Cloud picked up the topmost newspaper and read the headlines. It was a report about the progress of the new outpost that was nearly completed. He raised an eyebrow at this.

He pulled the fourth newspaper from the pile and read the headlines. This time, it was about the new drainage that was being constructed in Kalm. Cloud began to wonder.

He looked at the other newspapers on the pile, trying to fit the pieces together. Everything was irrelevant to each other, starting from a newly formed regiment of the Avalanche military, to the new materials that were found in Fort Condor, up to a new invention for energy conservation in homes.

There was even a report about a puppy that survived in the ruins of Mideel for two months.

Cloud found it strange. The headlines just didn't seem to add up. It was then that he noticed the dates on the first three newspapers he looked at. He then looked at the dates on the rest of the newspapers and then, the jigsaw pieces locked together in place. The picture that was created brought warmth to the man's heart.

A memory a long time ago began to stir in his mind and he remembered.  
-  
Flashback:

The young boy watched his female companion. Her beauty was unmatched by any other girl he has ever seen. Asides from his mother, of course. She was looking straight, straight into the sunset in front of them.

'So, you're going to leave Nibelheim for good?'

'It really depends... If the job takes me here, then I'm here.'

The young girl closed her eyes. 'I love this place. The air is fresh and the breeze is gentle. The sunsets are beautiful.'

'Nibelheim will always be my home.'

'Cloud, I hope you'll come back.' That statement started with a mere wish, a wick of hope, waiting for a fire to light it.

The boy watched the figure beside him as a gust of wind ruffled her hair. He marveled at how pretty she looked especially now that the wind was playing with it. He noticed small beads of sparkling tears fly past the strands. The boy fought to tear his eyes away from her and he found that that in itself was a battle for him. If he could not muster the courage to leave, how can he find the strength to be a first class SOLDIER? How can he even prove to her that he was worth something, that he can protect her and keep her safe if he can't even overcome this simple inner struggle?

Yet he had to be strong. He had to do it, for himself, for his mother, for his town, for Tifa. Yes, Tifa. He deeply regretted what he had done in the mountains. Or, he deeply regretted what he could not do. Because of him, he almost lost the only friend he has ever had. If only he was stronger, if only he went ahead, if only his body didn't stiffen during the fall and held Tifa close, protecting her from the rough landing, if only Tifa landed on his soft body rather than the merciless ground, if only he was the one who went into a coma and Tifa was the one who had minor injuries...

If only Cloud was not a worthless idiot, then none of this would have happened.

'Tifa, I'm so sorry, I'm weak.'

The girl shut out all of Cloud's self-pitying. She wanted only one thing, only one reassurance was what she wanted to hear. She stayed firm on her statement, her beg, her plea... 'Cloud, please come back.'

'If only I was stronger.'

'Cloud...'

'I will be stronger. I will show the world that I can protect people.'

'Then come back Cloud!'

The boy was somewhat startled at the girl's sudden outburst. He looked at her, and found her looking back at him. The crimson in her eyes seemed to glow even brighter. She desperately needed something from him. She needed reassurance. She needed comfort. She needed warmth.

A warmth that only Cloud Strife can give.

And yet, the boy never knew of this warmth he radiates.

He was just Cloud Strife.

Oh, so worthless, Cloud Strife.

And this Cloud Strife was what Tifa Lockheart ever wanted. He was all Tifa Lockheart needed.

And Tifa Lockheart never forgets a need and let it fly away. 'Ever since I was a child,' she began, 'my mother used to tell me stories about princesses in danger. A young and handsome prince would come to her aid and save her. He would fight valiantly, against all odds and against all monsters. He would rescue her, be her hero, and they would live happily ever after.'

Cloud never shifted his gaze. This time, it was a battle he had lost. He could feel his heart beating rapidly against his chest, struggling against the bars of his ribs.

'They were just fairytales,' she continued, 'and I don't believe in fairytales... Until now...' Tifa raised a lightly clenched fist on Cloud's face and raised her pinky. 'Cloud, when you make it into SOLDIER, promise me one thing...' she paused, watching her young companion's response. When she saw nothing, she took a deep breath, and continued, 'promise me that you will be my hero. When I'm in need, you will come to me and rescue me.'

Cloud's lips slightly quivered. He had nothing to say. He shifted his gaze towards the raised pinky on Tifa's hand.

'Cloud please, promise me... Tell me that fairytales can be real.'

'I-I...' he stammered, 'I'm not sure...'

'Please Cloud, you've always been there for me more than you have ever imagined. You are my guardian. You watched over me during my stupidity in the Nibel mountains, you kept watch from a distance as I played with my friends. Cloud, you guarded me, watching over me when I'm alone in my room, and when I'm sleeping. You were always there, Cloud, you were always with me... Always.'

Cloud slightly blushed. So, Tifa had known all along that he had been stalking her from her bedroom window. Now he knew why she would always open her window, whether it was sunny or stormy.

'Cloud, I believe in you. I really do.'

The boy realized that his vision had gradually blurred, courtesy of tears. He was afraid to shed them for it may show a sign of weakness. He dared not to blink.

'Promise me that you will be my hero, that you will always watch over me and save me. I believe in you, Cloud. I believe that you can do it. That's all I am asking for, Cloud.'

'Tifa...' Cloud was overjoyed. He did not know that someone actually believed in him. His world was a dark and gloomy abyss, covered in cold dew. His only sunshine and warmth was to watch over this girl and be with her. And now, this sunshine actually believes in him, shining for him. He did not feel like Cloud Strife, the worthless boy. He felt like Cloud Strife, the boy with a dream. And in his dream, in every path, in every crossroad he takes, he will always be led to Tifa.

He couldn't help but muster a small, but genuine smile. He was always there for Tifa and now, Tifa had been there for him as well. They were there for each other. Cloud raised a slightly clenched fist to meet Tifa's waiting hand. He raised his pinky as well, and let it come in contact with Tifa's waiting pinky. 'I will be your hero, Tifa Lockheart. I will come to save you, I promise.'

And with that said, they locked their pinkies together.

Cloud inched closer to Tifa and resumed watching the sunset.

Tifa looked back at the sunset as well. 'I'm going to read the newspapers.'

'But I thought you never read newspapers. You never liked reading them.'

'Well, it's about time I learned.'

'Why?'

'I need to know about your progress. I need to know that you're okay, and that you've made it into SOLDIER. When you're gone, newspapers will be the only hopes I have of contacting you and hearing from you.'

'Okay.'

The girl inched herself closer to Cloud and gently rested her head on his shoulder.

Both of them sat there for a while, watching the sun sink over the horizon, taking with it the worries and problems of the two figures and setting them down.

For now, it was just Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart.

And their intertwined pinky fingers.

End flashback -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cloud smiled. He will never forget that event. He will never forget Tifa. He returned his mindset to the present, looking at the paper in his hands. The different dates on each newspaper reminded him very well about Tifa. Now he had adequate evidence to clearly conclude that for every day that he was gone, delivering something, Tifa would purchase these newspapers.

And that childhood memory clearly reminded him.

Cloud heard a muffled thud. He turned around and located the source: a figure sprawled on his makeshift bed, face down. He chuckled.

Apparently, Tifa was dreaming about something and she fell off her bed. Fortunately, Cloud's makeshift bed was there to catch her fall. He watched as the woman raised her head and groggily looked around the room.

Cloud raised a hand and greeted the woman a good morning as soon as her half-opened eyes set upon him.

Tifa responded with a faint smile before flopping her head back down on the pillow and falling back to sleep.

The considerate, spiky-haired gentleman silently glided towards the door, opened it, stepped out, and closed it. All of these, he performed with such silence to consider him as worthy as a thief. He did not wish to bother the sleeping woman any more. He then walked slowly back to his room and partly opened the door. Denzel's grandfather was no longer there.

"Cloud?"

The man pulled his head out of the room and set his eyes on a small boy, standing near the door. "Denzel, you're awake early."

"Yeah. Grandpa left already. He told me to say thanks to you and Tifa for him. So, thanks."

"Okay. Are you hungry? Maybe we can find something for you to eat downstairs."

The boy shook his head, "I'll just wait for Tifa. I don't feel like eating ready made food."

"Tifa's still asleep."

"I know. But I'll wait."

"Is Marlene awake? How is she?"

"She's still sleeping. The girls wake up late."

Cloud nodded.

"Um, Cloud, where did you sleep last night? I couldn't find you anywhere this morning and grandpa was in your room." Denzel asked with curiosity.

"Well..."

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The red-cloaked figure awoke from his slumber, to the brightness of a new day. Still, hunger and thirst was not of his immediate concern. He composed himself inside the cramped walls of the boulder. A desperate urge to stretch plagued his mind as well as a desperate urge to finish his task. He unwrapped the cloak around him and gently crawled out of the hole. He stood outside of the little mouse hole in which he crawled out from, surveying his surroundings- his empty surroundings. The cool, fresh morning air was instantly replaced by the arid, searing heat of the desert sun.

The bright ball of fire was high and glaring in his eyes. Vincent stretched, his hand and claw reaching out to it. His body desperately needed the space after the long hours curled up in the hole. Vincent satisfied this need before he climbed on the topmost portion of the boulder.

He saw nothing on or beyond the expanse of nothingness.

Just as he had given up hope, he saw something- something which the untrained eye can never see from that vantage point.

On the sand, roughly around thirty meters north-east from where he's facing, a disturbance left its imprint on it. A deep mark gave its position away to the sharp-eyed gunman. Moving his eyes further, Vincent spotted another deep mark, followed by another and another and another. 'Footprints. Four sets of them. Judging by the depth and size of it, they were caused by heavy duty boots.'

Vincent stepped down from the rock and hastily walked over towards his discovery. When he arrived at one of the footprints, he knelt down and studied them. 'That's odd.'

The footprints were somewhat large, and the imprint was as perfect and as fresh as a photo. Vincent leaned forward and studied the design of the soles. 'This is really perplexing...' He looked up towards where the footprints were headed. He rose and followed the tracks. Eventually, it led him to a somewhat inclined plane of sand. The footprints disappeared and turned into a large, undecipherable imprint on the sand, on the edge of the inclined plane.

Again, with his eyes, he found some glimmering gold objects, partially buried under the sand. He knelt and picked one up. He did not need to examine it anymore for the moment he felt the object in his fingers, he knew very well what it was.

'Bullet jackets. Rifle type.'

And then it hit him. The undecipherable imprint was actually a memory of a human being who once lay prone there, firing a rifle at something or someone. He looked around and found three more imprints of almost the same kind, bullet casings around them and footprints behind the imprints. But what were these mysterious men firing at?

Suddenly, everything became silent. The noises of the desert stopped, hushing like a person mourning the death of his friend. Vincent felt a slight dread creep over him as he walked over to the top of the inclined plane.

What he saw below him was a sight he wished he never saw.

He picked up his PHS and checked if it still had enough battery to work. He dialled a number and waited for the line on the other side to respond. After a few seconds, a man's voice greeted him from the other line.

"Reeve, we have a problem..."

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Tifa walked out of her room. She has finished taking her shower already and it was about time she went downstairs to serve breakfast for the three hungry people living with her. She was glad that Cloud was back, and glad that Denzel's grandpa stayed over for the night.

Because of him, Cloud was able to stay with her for the night. What transpired during Cloud's stay replayed itself over and over her mind. She remembered his relaxing massage, his mako blue lamps that lit her dark room, the kiss...

Her body tensed a bit when she remembered the kiss.

She tried to remember the massage again, hoping to ease the tension. She never knew that Cloud had a special talent for massaging. She felt so revitalized and reborn after all these years of hardwork and pain. And Cloud removed it all in a few minutes of bliss, his hands creating a magnificent artwork on her back.

Tifa's daydreaming kept her absent-minded on where she was walking. She felt the floor give way as her foot reached the edge of the staircase. Tifa let out a small yelp before losing her balance.

Instantly, two strong yet gentle arms guided her fall onto the soft cushion of a man's chest. In an equally soft voice, the man spoke, "Hey, watch where you're going."

Tifa's eyes met those same blue lamps she saw last night and for her, her day is complete. "Morning Cloud."

"Morning to you too, Tifa."

Tifa did not want to let go. He was so warm, she felt like melting in his arms.

"Um, I think Denzel is hungry. Marlene may wake up any moment and she'll be hungry as well."

"Oh, yeah. Um, wait. Let me think.." Clearly, she was buying some time, hoping to stay like this for a while longer.

Cloud loosened his hold, not wanting to take up more of Tifa's time. She had things to do- a lot of things to do.

Tifa slowly pulled back, "I'm... Gonna make breakfast already."

"Alright. Denzel's waiting downstairs. I'm just going to wash up."

The woman nodded and flashed Cloud a smile before walking past him.

The blonde continued his trek up the staircase. Before he reached the door of his room, a faint and familiar beeping sound is forcing its way in his ears. 'The PHS...'

He hastily entered his room and located the handheld object on his desk. It beeped, flashed, and vibrated, demanding attention. If not by its owner, then by anyone who happens to pass by it.

Without a second thought, Cloud flipped it open and held it to his ear, "Strife Delivery Service, this is Cloud Strife. How may I help you?"

"Cloud, it's me."

"Reeve?"

"Lucky guess."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine Cloud, but lets skip the formalities and other stuff."

"Alright, what do you want?"

"Well, we have a problem and I was wondering if you can deliver something for me."

"Sure. What's the cargo and destination?"

"I have dispatched some men to send the cargo to you in Tifa's bar. It may arrive shortly. All the details about the job is written on a small, red envelope that I taped on the cargo."

"Okay, consider it done."

"Thanks a lot Cloud, this is a matter of dire need and every second counts."

"Don't worry about me or your package, worry about the bill."

Reeve chuckled, "Ah, I knew I can count on you. I've always counted on you, and you never failed. Have a good day Cloud, goodbye."

"Same to you, Reeve. It was nice to hear from you again. Bye." Cloud listened as the line on the other side was cut before he shut the PHS. 'Just when I'm back here with Tifa and the kids...' he sighed. But that's okay, it's his job. Everything will be fine again after this delivery.

But he still can't shake the feeling that there is something terrible brewing up. And Reeve is telling me that something has happened...

Something bad...

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A/N There you go! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far.  
Thanks to marinawings for the reviews. You're gonna get what you're hoping for. It's pretty soon. Good thing it's part of the plot, hehe.

Thanks to luvin-it for the reviews as well. Kababayan ko! haha!

And thanks for the dude who said that the characters are so OOC. I think I improved on that... a bit...

Please R and R! 


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter and the other coming chapters may get too brutal for some. So, I'm already warning you. Enjoy. 

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It has been a while since Vincent was met by such a horrid sight. From what he has experienced, this sight does not bother him much, rather, the consequences, the motives and the unknown acquaintances that may arise due to this scene before him are what chill him.

The desert is mysteriously silent right now, providing emphasis to the area. The sun is much hotter than usual and the rays penetrate through the layers of Vincent's clothing to cook his undead skin. The man's eyes are devoid of emotion yet deep inside, the pain swells like a tumor. They all had fought for peace- he had fought for peace, and peace is mocking them- mocking him.

The only condolence he received came from the heat wave. This unlikely being sensed Vincent's pain and in a good-natured response, tried desperately to blur the view from the man's eyes. It failed miserably, only succeeding in masking the nothingness of the environment enveloping the horrible sight. The scene itself was as clear as glass and any attempt to erase it is futile.

This is what peace is. Peace is a sadistic form of insult to them; or to Vincent, at least. Peace prevents any form of destruction to the masterpiece-of-insult it has created for the tortured peacemaker to see. It was too much to bear.

Vincent fought to shut his eyelids and struggled to keep them shut. Peace saw this as a minor disappointment and resisted the man's actions. Even if his eyelids blocked the view from his eyes, peace has found a way to make those eyelids transparent. In response, he tried to shut them even tighter, and clearing his mind of any thought. He tried to think of happier times with his new friends, the rebuilding of the planet and... peace.

Every good thought boils down to peace- the peace that was attacking him. Vincent still fought for one last inch of tranquility and, as always, determination prevailed.

Peace failed to secure victory in this little skirmish but the war was not over yet. For peace, and every other thing in the planet, that war is about to begin.

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"So, when will you be back? I thought you were gonna stay here for a while."

"Well, duty calls."

"How long is this trip going to take?"

"It depends on the destination and- there are so many factors to consider. So, I don't know yet."

"We'll be waiting for you."

"Yeah, obviously."

"What made you say that, huh?"

"Seeing as this is the only home we've got, who else are we going to wait for if one of us is out?"

"Alright, you win. Just be careful okay?"

"I will. Hey, you can always check the newspapers, right?"

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Reeve wandered his eyes at the reports piling up onto his desk. Today was an unusually lazy day for Reeve. He wished that he could stay at home and relax but unfortunately, the missing convoy problem has lured him into the trap of his office.

He checked his watch. 9:00 am. By now, he should be sitting on his couch, legs propped up on the table in front of him, daydreaming. In a few minutes, he should be sleeping again in that same position. Then probably, he should be going out to eat lunch on a restaurant. "Take note of the 'should be'." he muttered.

He then should be coming back home to watch TV. 'Oh wait, we only have four channels'. The Avalanche-Shinra battle wiped out most of the TV stations on Midgar and time and effort was placed on the rebuilding of homes; not on the rebuilding of entertainment. 'Mental note: Ask W.R.O. to restore television entertainment after.'

Aside from television, probably he would read something. A book perhaps, or a simple magazine. However, he realized that his magazines were outdated. Yet again, a direct casualty of the battle. He would settle down with a book then.

But for now, he must read these papers. Now that the convoy problem has successfully trapped him, papers came flying on to his desk, all filled with more problems. 'Ah well, the only person without a problem is a dead person.'

He began to shuffle through the papers, wanting to finish the job early.

As soon as he read the papers, he knew that he will be staying here for a while.

He pushed a button on his intercom and spoke, "Can you please contact my three general officers, I need to speak to them at once."

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Vincent stood, his eyes still shut. Peace has stopped its assault, allowing him to fortify his stronghold against a possible attack. How ironic it is that peace is on the offensive.

But still, he must defend peace for the sake of others, and the planet. He must defend that which has attacked.

And in doing so, unleash hell upon the unsuspecting residents of this home. They will unknowingly embrace hell, thinking that it is good for them. And hell, in return, will open its fiery arms of suffering to those who will embrace it.

Nothing is safe now. Nothing will ever be safe for anything, yet Vincent still believed that there is peace. Somewhere, the real peace is there for them, laying dormant while its evil replica plagues the land. This is what Vincent will fight for right there and then. It will be a long and arduous campaign and he will march into the fray with nothing but his belief of that true peace.

How can peace have an evil clone? This seems illogical. Peace is supposed to be one and only, a lone term for something positive, and something that is wished by many. How can it have an evil clone then?

Could it be that without this clone, the importance of peace will be overlooked? Could it be that peace is taken for granted? Yes, that is it. Peace will become so common that it will be forgotten as a simple part of everyone's daily routines. Peace will be just in the corner, working beneath the shadows. It will no longer be desired, and peace is alive when it is desired. This desire gives hope and strength. It gives people a quintessential basis for their battles, giving them the will to fight for peace.

And since peace, once attained, will become so commonplace, and it will be taken for granted. As a defensive mechanism, peace created an evil clone, a false peace in order to remain in existence. Survival of the fittest.

This false peace is there in order not to taint the real peace in a shroud of darkness and misery. It is there to provide people with a false sense of security while slowly wreaking havoc among the populace. Eventually, it will cause new fighters to emerge, all of them with the hopes of having peace. They will desire peace, enough to die for it.

And this is exactly what peace wanted in order to survive.

Survival of the fittest.

Due to this struggle for existence, there will be no peace because of peace.

This reality bathed the lone figure in silence. He kept his eyes closed, slowly creeping out of the internal stronghold he created. There is nothing left to do. The truth is something he must accept.

But truth is an unverified fact, only agreed upon by many.

Probably, he can change that truth; hope for the true peace to settle down and manifest itself in everyone's hearts. In return, he will ensure that peace will never be remembered as a commoner.

How great are the demands of peace...

The sound of a motor engine suddenly invades the silence. This sudden, expected disturbance snaps his eyes open. He watched as a machine, no more than a meter in width approached him. A pair of goggles reverberates the glimmer of sunlight as it hits it, and the wind messed the alreasy messed-up spiky blonde hair of its rider.

The man and machine stopped a few meters from him. Vincent shifted his gaze towards the sand, listening as the newcomer kills the engine and hops off the bike.

"What happened here?" the blonde greeted.

"Ambush." he greeted back.

"By who?"

"That is what we're about to find out." he fumbled in his cloak. After a few moments, he pulled out a small, brown stick with two red stripes enveloping it. He then walked over to a fairly large open plain. He then popped off the top, releasing a thick, blood red smoke into the air.

Vincent then knelt down and jammed the bottom part of the stick in the sand, making sure that it firmly held in place. He took out his PHS and dialed a number. "I found them. Send a medevac chopper here. Red flare's up."

Cloud interrupted. "I'm here by Reeve's request. I brought some medical supplies."

"That does not seem to be necessary as of now." Vincent said, looking at the carnage.

Cloud went to a large box strapped to the back of his bike and pulled out a small, white plastic bag. He took out a bottle of water from the box and walked towards Vincent, stretching his arms out to offer the plastic bag and the bottle of water to his friend, "Well, looking at you, these seem to be necessary."

Vincent relieved Cloud's hands of the two small burdens, "Thanks." he held the bottle between his right elbow and his side while he opened the plastic bag. Inside the bag was a piece of sandwich. What was inside the sandwich, he did not care. He took a small bite of it and realized that he was actually hungry; famished, in fact.

"Good?"

A small nod.

"Wait 'till you taste Tifa's meals."

"So I've heard." Vincent placed the last bite of sandwich in his mouth and began to open the bottle of water.

"When?"

He swallowed, "The Seventh Heaven bar has earned quite a large reputation, you know."

Cloud scratched his head.

"It's somewhat surprising." the red-cloaked marksman placed the bottle on his lips and he let the refreshing liquid flow down his throat. He closed his eyes as some of his strength returned to him.

"What?" the blonde said patiently.

Vincent screwed the cap of the now empty bottle before replying, "From all the travels you've been, you have not heard about its popularity."

"I'm not much of a gossiper."

"Now that's not a surprise."

The blonde looked back at the scene of chaos. "So, this is the convoy huh?"

"Hello, Sergeants."

The two men revolved around the controversial wreckage. It was such a mess, as if ten demons played around it. The trucks no longer burned and the extent of the burns reduced all other materials other than steel and metal into ashes or hardened goo. Bodies decorated around the trucks, sprawled in all sorts of positions. The peaceful silence was but a facade of the rioting torture that occured.

"There are some marks left behind by the attackers. I came across them earlier."

"Show me."

Vincent obliged and motioned for his friend to follow him onto the plateau. The imprints on the sand, and the bullet casings were still there, untouched. "Who were these people?" the blonde asked.

"I'm not sure. Look at those footprints."

Cloud followed Vincent's finger to the imprints in question. He leaned in for a better look at them. "Heavy combat boots."

"Look at the soles."

The spiky-haired man studied the footprints and nearly gasped. "Vincent, these are..."

"Avalanche-issued combat boots."

"A coup d' etat?"

"Highly unlikely. Influence by lower ranking officers are not enough to gather support from their subordinates."

"Yeah, and they are extremely loyal to Reeve. Treason is intolerable in their ranks. Maybe freedom fighters?"

"It's probable. I checked the bullet holes on the trucks. They are bunched up together especially on the areas where the dead soldiers once stood. Even their placement and tactic during the attack are something that are taught by paramilitary means. They are trained. Somebody experienced in the military may be helping them."

"Or they may not be freedom fighters after all, judging by that training." Cloud looked back at the footprints and thought of the possibilities.

Somehow, the footprints were giving him much to ponder about. In fact, they were helping him. Cloud found it foolish that these unknown men would leave some of their tracks behind. Maybe they wanted Avalanche to find out and lead it into a trap. Or maybe they merely forgot to cover it up.

It's somewhat probable. The heat of the sun, the adrenaline, and the manic desire to kill as many as they can may lead their brains to forget about cleaning up their tracks.

But still, there is something very peculiar about these footprints. "Vincent, look at the shape of the boots. Most importantly, look at the edges."

"Squarish and sharp. There must be another thick and extremely sturdy material in the boots."

"Reinforced rubber. Why would they put reinforced rubber in these boots?"

The red-cloaked man thought about this question for a moment before an answer crossed his mind. It may not be the right answer, but it is better than none. Probably, it is correct. "Because these boots are designed for paratroopers..." he mumbled. He then looked at his blonde-haired friend. "Yes, Cloud. Look back at the soles. The grip under the soles are diamond shaped. They can be easily mistaken for army boots. Army boots' grip designs are squarish, designed for traction in rough terrain. These diamond grips are designed for more grip during landings."

"Hence, paratrooper boots."

"But only one city trains paratroopers. To be capable of producing those troops, a city needs to have a vast land to be able to make the drops."

Cloud looked to the west and over the horizon. It is pretty difficult to swallow the realization, "Junon."

"The clues lead there. Junon is a large city with a large land. It is plausible."

This is not yet verified though, allowing Cloud to swallow it better albeit, a bit.

"Choppers will arrive shortly. You may want to stay in Raven outpost for a while."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that. I'll just call Tifa and the kids and inform them." he spoke, while retrieving his PHS from his pocket.

Vincent replied with a nod and walked towards the box of supplies the delivery boy had brought. He peered inside the box, hoping to find something useful. Inside were rolls of bandages, some alcohol, morphine, ammonia, cotton buds, and the like. They are useful indeed, for people who are alive. If only the supplies arrived much sooner then perhaps their usefulness could still be utilized.

From a distance, Vincent began to hear a faint whizzing. Gradually, it became louder and louder. He looked over to the signal flare he put and found it spewing the last of its smoke. He placed it much too early and unfortunately, he had none left.

It was no problem, however. The area of the wreckage is large enough for the pilot or the men to see and with the faint smoke of the flare, it would not be difficult to pinpoint their location.

"Tifa and Marlene said hi to you."

Vincent slightly smiled. "So they know?"

"Yeah. I was only able to talk to Tifa. She was pretty reluctant about it, I could tell. But she agreed when she found out that you're around. I'm sure she told the kids."

Vincent nodded, "Chopper's arriving shortly. Don't worry about your bike, plenty of space for that."

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Two metallic birds zoomed across the infinite blue. Smoke trails from the afterburners and the roaring sound of their engines make their presence known among those, if any, on the ground.

Inside one of the planes, two men sat in a column- a seat, electronical equipment, and displays serve as their dividers. The man at the back spoke, "Hey, you still owe me two hundred and fifty gil for beating you in our chess match."

"I could've won, damn it. Didn't see your horse." came the reply in front of him.

"Knight."

"Whatever."

"Lesson to be learned, partner: when playing a certain game with nothing but inexperience and a loud mouth, be sure to avoid betting."

"Hehe. Next time, I'll be the one teaching you a lesson, smartass."

the co-pilot smirked, "I believe you already did."

"Oh, and what would that be?"

"When playing a game against an inexperienced loud mouth, be sure to have him bet a lot of money."

The man smirked at the remark, "But at least I'm better at flying. Why do you think you were placed in the co-pilot's seat?"

"I dunno." to avoid further embarrassment, the defeated co-pilot tried to change the topic, "Hey, where are we?"

"Check the nav computer. You're my co-pilot, you should know." he replied, giving more emphasis on the word, 'co-pilot'.

The man cursed himself for being dumb and placing himself further up in the throne of shame. He checked the screen on the lower left of the panel in front of him. A digital pixel of a plane was in the middle of the screen. A line stretched from the nose of the plane to the edge of the screen. He took a gloved hand and slowly turned the knob on the left side of the screen counter clockwise. The plane became smaller and smaller with every click, telling the co-pilot that the screen was zooming out.

He saw the line stretch further until it stopped on a tiny dot on the screen. Beside the dot was a small '3' and a large block. On the lower right of the screen were the figures: "Waypt. 3-Junon: 5.7miles", "ETA: 5min"

"We're about five miles from our third waypoint. So we're just going to check out Junon and leave?"

"Yep. Then we're goint to Midgar, then Kalm, then Raven outpost, then back to Fort Condor."

"This is getting boring."

"Rox and Jak don't look too bored about the job." and the pilot pointed to the plane on his left.

"They are newbies Pyle. Third time to fly. Of course, it's exciting for them." the co-pilot replied blankly.

Pyle turned on the communicator and spoke, "Seven, this is six. How are you guys doing?"

On the other plane, the two rookies received the transmission from their superior. The pilot, Rox, answered, "We're alright, sir. Nothing much happening though."

"Ah. Just wait 'till we get to Junon. The action is going to start there."

"But we're just going to take some aerial photographs, sir. Nothing much."

"We're at peace so the only shots we're gonna be taking are pictures."

"Yes sir." The communication was deliberately cut off and Rox spoke to his co-pilot, "You enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Me too." the young pilot checked the screens around him. He made sure that everything was working optimally. "How long?"

It took a brief moment before the young man behind him replied, "Not long. We're near already."

Back at the other plane, the two men sat, listening to the sharp hum of the engine. Somehow, it soothed them both.

Then, a transmission from the other plane pierced through the calm. A beeping noise was heard, followed by a frantic yell, "Sir, we've been locked on!"

"Evasive maneuvers, now!" the two senior pilots donned their oxygen masks. Pyle grasped harder on the control stick while his co-pilot made a run-through on the plane's combat systems.

Pyle pulled the stick towards him and the plane made a sharp climb. Both of them had to pull their helmets' visor down as the sun glared in their eyes. Pyle tried to open up communication with the other plane but their communication systems were jammed. He looked around for his wingmen. "Can you see them?"

"I can't! But sensors show that they are still around. We must get out of range quick, before we are targetted!" their voices were partly muffled due to the masks.

"But we can't leave our wingmen!"

"Look! On our three, there they are!"

Immediately, the pilot looked to his right. The silhouette of a plane could be seen among the clouds, followed by a small object. The plane flew around in a frantic motion, as if dancing out of tune, just to keep its distance from the object. "Damn it! They're gonna stall!"

The plane dipped, rolled, and climbed. Despite these efforts, their hunter was gaining on them.

The two veterans watched as their wingmen pushed their plane to its limits. As the plane tipped its nose upward to climb, it stalled and began to fall like a rock. Its sudden movement made it luckily pass the missile. The missile in turn, made a large U-turn in the air and sped after the falling bird. "Point your nose down damn it! Point your nose down and speed up!" was all Pyle could say. If only the two rookies could hear him...

The pilot thought of an extremely risky idea but if it worked, they would be able to breathe much easier. He guided the plane down after the missile, armed the guns and let the computer acquire the lock on the missile. He had to be extremely cautious for a missed shot could hit their wingmen.

His co-pilot realized what he was about to do and braced himself.

Pyle found it difficult to acquire a lock. The missile was moving so fast and it was pretty difficult to steady the plane. "Come on..."

In the other plane, Rox felt his stomach rising up to his chest. Both of them were panicking so much that they forgot how to recover their plane from a stall. It's funny how much panic leads to more deaths than the direct cause itself.

In a final effort, Rox released all the countermeasures from his plane, hoping that the missile would hit them. It was a bad move.

The missile was radar-guided, not heat seeking. Countermeasures are useful as another heat source for heat-seeking missiles to hit and not for radar-guided missiles.

And, the extremely hot objects caused Pyle to lose his focus on the missile and evade the countermeasures.

The hunter was only a few inches from its prey.

Time slowed down for Rox as the missile impacted on the back of the plane. He heard the deafening sound of metal screeching and being torn apart, and the sound of fuel and metal bursting into flames. He could also hear the faint scream of Jak behind him. 'Jak is dying... I'm going to die too...' and then, his co-pilot's scream was overpowered by the sound of ripping metal and fire breaking in.

He caught a glimpse of the altimeter before its screen, along with all the other screens, became blank. It read: 16,000 ft.

Then, he felt the flames lick from behind him. His suit caught fire and as more of the canopy shattered, the oxygen from the atmosphere made the flames grow. It was an endless torture. He wanted to die instantly on the spot but somehow, he is being kept alive. He felt extreme pain as the whole cockpit ripped open. Small pieces of metal and glass splashed on him. Then, he felt like he was thrown out with much force. And all he could do was scream.

Next thing he knew, flames were all around him as he fell straight down.

The two survivors watched in horror as the missile hit their wingmen's plane. In a second, the plane burst apart.

And they swore that they saw a small, burning figure flailing about as it plummeted thousands of feet to the ground. It was such a horrible way to die.

Pyle heard a yell, "Watch out!" when he looked, a large piece of metal was being blown at their direction. The senior pilot reacted too late, as the metal hit their stabilizers. He lost control and the plane began to plummet down, leaving behind in its wake, a trail of black smoke.

The pilot pulled back on the throttle, bringing the thrust to zero then he pulled as hard as he could on the control stick as the altimeter fell from 16,000 to 10,000 ft. The plane responded too slowly. Pyle clenched his teeth as the ground came closer and closer.

Well, at least his co-pilot was motivating him, "COME ON, PULL UP! PULL UP!"

"DAMNIT! THIS ISN'T WORKING!" he yelled through clenched teeth.

"TWO THOUSAND FEET!"

"AAAARRGH!"

"cOME ON PYLE, PULL 'ER UP! PULL 'ER UP! ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED FEET!"

The plane seemed like it lost its will to live. It didn't want to respond and if it did, it responded very slowly. Its occupants though, are thinking the opposite. They wanted to live, and their lives depended on the plane.

"NINE HUNDRED FEET!... EIGHT HUNDRED FEET!... IT'S GETTING SLOWER! COME ON, JUST A LITTLE MORE PYLE! PULL HARDER!"

"WHAT THE HELL YOU THINK I'M DOING?"

The plane was almost level with the ground by now.

"SEVEN HUNDRED FEET!... SIX HUNDRED FEET!"

The pilot even used his feet to try and propell him upwards as he pulled hard. He pulled with more than what his strength can allow, because of his will to survive. Due to the effort, the plane was nearly parallel to the ground.

"TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY FEET!... TWO HUNDRED FEET!... ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FEET!... ONE HUNDRED FEET!... GODDAMNIT, THAT SAND'S AWFULLY CLOSE!"

"I KNOW! I KNOW!"

"FIFTY FEET PYLE!"

He was almost there. Only a few more and the plane will be running parallel to the ground. "WE'RE GONNA CRASH PYLE!"

"WE'RE NOT GONNA CRASH! AAAARRRGGH!" he pulled so hard, he felt that the stick would snap. But he didn't care; he wanted to live.

Both men tensed as the sand came very close to them.

And finally, with only a few feet to spare, the plane was running parallel with the ground. It was then that the pilot began to feel the repercussions of his struggle. His arms were burning hot from the strain.

"GOD! YOU CAN KEEP THE TWO FIFTY YOU OWE ME!" Both of them can now breathe a little easier. Pyle squinted his left eye as a bead of sweat trickled down to it.

However, they weren't out of the woods yet. He still had to maintain his pull on the stick as the plane flew dangerously close to the ground. They needed to throttle up for the plane to generate more lift so that it can gain altitude. The pilot, however, could not dare move even a finger to the throttle for it may cause the plane to tilt downwards. He couldn't roll the plane left or right for either wing may come in contact with the ground. In fact, he wouldn't dare move even an inch.

They were stuck in that position until God knows when...

They watched as the mounds of sand went by them really fast. They are moving at a very fast rate, but not fast enough to generate the much needed lift. They waited until something made them tense once again. To their horror, a large mound of sand began to loom in front of them. There was no other way to avoid it but to gain altitude and pass over it.

"PULL UP PARTNER! PULL UP!"

"I AM! I AM!" Pyle forgot the pain in his left eye as he struggled to move the throttle bar up or leave his hands pulling on the control stick.

On instinct, they pressed their backs further into their seats, thinking that they needed to stay as far away as possible from the much-feared object. And that much-feared object is getting larger and larger. They needed to gain that much needed speed right now.

Pyle pushed aside all his second thoughts and without reluctance, he hastily unclamped his right hand from the control stick, pulling it off the grip of his left hand, and pushed the throttle bar all the way forward.

"DAMN! EJECT! EJECT!"

"TOO LATE!"

Both their eyes grew wide. The plane hit the mound like a missile. The sand erupted and sprayed everywhere, but the majority of it sprayed to the direction the plane was heading. The once proud mound was reduced to nothing.

-  
A/N

Brutal eh?  
Wow, over 840 hits.. Well, for me, that's really nice... And I'm glad.  
Hehe. Hope you enjoy! Please R & R!


	8. Chapter 8

The dust settled as the sand accomodated two new souls into its bosom. The swirling of the blinding dust gradually died down, calming itself down to the ground. Now, the disturbed land began to wander into another one of its endless slumbers. 

Just as it lay in the blanket of blazing hot sand, another disturbance roused it from its comfortable position, as sand began to swirl and shoot up in every direction. This rude interruption is complemented by the sound of whizzing metallic blades.

A black huey barely touched its skids on the ground when four of its anxious occupants, armed with large rifles, jumped down. The four took their positions by the sides of the chopper, and knelt down, actively scanning the area for any threats and observers.

Once they found the area to be clear, one of the soldiers raised an arm and motioned to his three companions to proceed. The four stood and hastily ran over to the once proud mound of sand.

The wind from the chopper's blades blew away some of the sand from the mound, revealing parts of a twisted wreckage. On the revealed metal was a scorched painting of an Avalanche logo.

The four men guarded the area while two other men, freshly disembarked from the chopper, hurried towards the unearthed heap and shoveled the sand off the wreck.

One of the shovelers was taken back when the sand began to move. He stopped his work and watched. 'What's this?' His abrupt discontinuation of his work forced one of the soldiers to come over and check the problem.

"What's going on, why are you not working?" he asked.

"Something's moving in the sand." the worker pointed.

"That's impossible; no one can survive this crash."

"Impossibility is but an extremely difficult possibility."

The two were taken aback when a gloved hand popped out of the sand. It was scorched, and the glove was torn, revealing some of the fingers. The soldier yelled, "Captain, someone's alive here!"

One of the soldiers rushed towards them. When he saw the gloved hand, he pushed the worker, "Get the sand off him!" He pointed at his subordinate, "You, help him!"

The soldier replied by holstering his rifle behind him and rushing to help. He knelt down beside the worker, finding something he could use. He eventually gave up when he found nothing and used his helmet to scoop the sand away.

Finally, they unearthed the buried man. He wore some sort of clothing for pilots. His helmet was still on, a shattered visor hanging loosely over one of its screws. Half of his body was hanging off the edge of the wrecked cockpit. The pilot coughed up some sand and tried to focus his eyes on the men that seem to have saved his life. Despite the blur in his eyes, he could make out black figures standing over him. He could not see their faces for they were covered with black masks. One of the figures approached him and knelt down.

The soldier studied the dazed pilot before speaking, "Where does your plane store the surveillance data?"

The pilot sensed trouble in the soldier's tone and didn't answer. Even if he did, he could not tell them because they were unable to take pictures anyway. However, there were other more 'classified' data stored in there with them and he felt these men to be untrustworthy.

"Can't talk eh? That's too bad... Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

The pilot watched as the soldier, who was blocking his view, stood and stepped aside. As soon as the figure left his view, another figure was revealed, pointing his rifle at him. The man shook his head slowly, with forced pity, uttering a "tsk, tsk, tsk."

Then, a burst of fire, followed by a deafening noise. Blood splattered on the Avalanche logo, bathing it.

With smoke spewing from the nozzle, the soldier put his rifle down. "What now, Captain?"

"I want every inch, every nook and cranny of this plane and the area searched. Get all surveillance data this plane holds. No one's leaving without the data."

"Sir do you think the others have the data from the other plane?"

"The other plane was blown off the sky. Its data could be in bits and pieces by now but, we can never be sure. We are lucky that this plane is somewhat intact; makes it easier for us. Now move it."

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There was a knock.

"Come in!"

The door opened and a woman holding pieces of paper came in, "Commander, these are reports from Fort Condor. They are pretty urgent."

Reeve sighed, "More papers, more work. Put them on my desk, I'll look at them in a moment."

The woman obeyed and left the room.

Reeve picked up the papers on his desk. He read the first one and flung it at the two men sitting in front of him. "More attacks, gentlemen."

The man wearing a green gala uniform leaned forward and read the paper. "Bomb attack destroyed the armory in Fort Condor military base."

Another piece of paper slid on the table towards them. The navy blue-clad man stopped the paper in his hand and read it. "We lost four more military convoys."

"Here's one." Reeve spoke. He closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them and began to read, "this came from Fort Condor airbase. Sent two fighter planes on routine surveillance mission. Lost contact with them an hour ago. Presumably shot down."

"This is all too sudden. We are threatened with a large number of unprovoked attacks." General Salve spoke.

"The civilian populace are cowering in fear! They may begin to question the integrity of our military's capabilities, commander!" Karl added.

Reeve sighed, placing an arm on the desk and rested his forehead on his hand. He began to massage it with his fingers. "I want an investigation underway. If our units come under attack, I want a combat-ready reserve to back them up immediately."

"Investigations have already started, commander."

"If possible, capture any of them. Let's squeeze out some info from them. Then, we put them down- permanently."

"What should be our status?" The navy-blue clad general asked.

"We're yellow. Put up yellow alert in all military installations."

They nodded.

"We need to end this. Eventually, our resources will be drained."

"We can always put the rest of our resources to the rebuilding of this planet." the Admiral spoke.

Reeve nodded in approval, "Yes. That's a sound idea. But unfortunately, backing down our military will make the people susceptible to attacks, and I can't risk that. Now, if there are no more questions, or serious matters to discuss, you are dismissed."

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The chopper landed with a thud. Four soldiers jumped out as the rotors slowed down to a stop. Unlike those who set up tactical positions around the machine, these men simply crouched low to avoid the whipping of the wind on their faces, then helping the two VIP's down.

Actually, helping just one VIP. The spiky-haired VIP remarked, "That was a great ride." and he walked away with wobbly legs.

The other red-cloaked VIP helped keep his friend's balance, "Excuse the landing; The pilot's a rookie."

"Good thing Cid wasn't with us. That pilot would've gotten such a beating." Cloud spoke. "And Yuffie will definitely throw up, if she was here as well."

"Now I heard my name somewhere along the lines." came a perky voice from behind. "Who said that?"

Cloud turned. His mouth slightly opened at the newcomer in front of him.

"Heya Cloud! Long time no see!" the teen grinned.

"Yuffie was invited by Reeve to visit the outpost." Vincent answered his friend's puzzled look.

"Ya. I must say, this place is kinda neat!"

Cloud snapped out of it, "How have you been Yuffie?"

"Everything's fine with me." she smiled, "How are YOU and you know WHO?"

Cloud looked clueless.

"Y'know, this certain COMRADE?" she grinned.

Vincent understood who she was talking about but did not show it.

Cloud frowned, "H-Ha?"

"Never mind. Hey! Good thing you guys came! Some of the soldiers found some anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines on one of their trips. They plan to blow 'em up so that they can't be used again." She placed her palms together, "Isn't this gonna be fun? C'mon, let's go there!"

"Where are they going to blow the mines?" Vincent asked, not sharing in the delight of the young girl.

"We might find something useful on those mines." Cloud added. "Show us Yuffie, before they blow them up."

The perky young teen jumped to her feet and ran, "Alrightiee, follow me!"

The two didn't waste a moment and pursued the girl.

Somehow, Cloud found the time to behold the sight around him. The place looks more like a well-developed neighborhood than a military installation. He could see soldiers left and right. He watched as a small group of tanks passed by them. Some of the soldiers on the streets hopped onto the tanks for a free ride to their destination.

Army trucks and vehicles littered the roads like traffic and soldiers infested the sidewalks like pedestrians.

They rounded a corner and Cloud was surprised by the sudden change of atmosphere. This time, there were normal citizens walking around the place. Cars were not military vehicles and they were driven by citizens.

Military policemen patrolled the streets by pairs. They even passed by a group of them buying in a donut stand. 'This must be the lodging area' Cloud thought.

Eventually, they were away from the hustle and bustle of the 'city', and coming to a secluded area. They slowed down to a walk as soon as they saw wooden roadblocks in the middle of the road and four military policemen guarding them. They stood in attention as the three passed through.

They continued walking, not minding the fatigue until they saw a van parking on the side of the road. Two men, covered in heavy pads, came out from the back and began to walk towards a group of hills were a group of soldiers were.

Vincent and Cloud identified an officer and rushed to him. Yuffie followed closely behind.

Cloud spoke as they approached, "Excuse me. I've heard that you have the retrieved mines here."

The officer replied, "Yes sir. You heard correctly."

"Are the mines still intact?"

"Yeah. You want to see them?"

"We need to see them."

"You came just in time. The boys just finished putting them in place." The officer signalled to one of the men, getting his attention. When the man turned to face him, the officer raised his hand to make a slicing gesture on his neck. The man nodded and briskly waved his right hand vertically at the others.

The officer started to walk towards the hill. The three followed beside him. "It's a good thing you came though. The mines seem far too advanced to be home made. And there is something you need to see." Soldiers stood aside as the group walked pass them. Some of them rested their chins on their shovels. The group finally arrived at the edge of a six foot hole.

The officer pointed at the group of peculiar devices in the hole. They were neatly and carefully placed beside each other. "Look."

Vincent dropped down to get a closer look.

"Be careful sir, even if our bomb squad successfully disarmed them, we never can tell."

Vincent did not reply. His eyes widened.

"What do you see Vince?" Yuffie asked.

"I see trouble."

"What is it?" Cloud dropped down. Yuffie was about to follow when Cloud stopped her. She frowned.

"Check out the serial number and the design." Vincent pointed.

The blonde peered over to the side of the mines. Its casing seemed clean and polished, despite its exposure to the ground. They definitely do not look home made. But there was something that disturbed him; Something very familiar on its design.

As soon as he realized it, Cloud gasped, "These were... Made by Shinra?"

"Shinra?" Yuffie asked, baffled.

"Probably they were stolen from the armory." Cloud assumed.

"Shinra's been a great help in the rebuilding of the world, making them Avalanche-positive. And since they've been weakened by the last battle, some fanatics can easily steal their stuff. They can't be the ones responsible." Yuffie said.

Vincent looked at her then back at the mines.

Cloud took out a piece of paper and fumbled in his pocket for a writing tool. The officer sensed his need and handed him a black pen. Cloud smiled and began to copy the serial numbers and the type of the mines before he climbed out of the hole. Vincent followed Cloud out of the hole and pulled Yuffie away to safety.

"You may resume, lieutenant. Do what must be done." Vincent spoke.

The officer nodded and motioned for his men to continue. The three watched as one of the heavily padded bomb squad members stepped forward and placed a small, remote explosive in the hole.

After he climbed out of the hole, the remaining soldiers covered the hole with soil, burying the explosives in it. The officer ordered his men to go back to the van. Cloud, Vincent and Yuffie followed. As they began their short trek down to the hill, the heavily padded man positioned all the explosives together.

The bomb squad member climbed out of the hole and waited until everyone was safely taking cover behind the van before he adjusted the time on his remote to five minutes and pushed the button.

Back at the van, they all heard a yell, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

The officer echoed, "EVERYONE! FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Moments later, a heavily padded figure came stumbling out of the bushes and down from the hill, running towards them.

"KEEP YOUR HEADS DOWN!"

Vincent pushed Yuffie's head down, receiving a grunt in response to this action.

As the bomb squad member neared the van, a large, deafening explosion was heard. It caused the ground to lightly shake. Over the hill, soil flew a hundred meters into the air before raining back down.

Everyone was silent.

Yuffie began to stand up when the officer stopped her, yet again. He spoke, "We're not yet cleared to go there."

They stood, watching as members of the bomb squad rushed to the hill.

Cloud took out his PHS, "I'm informing Reeve of our discovery."

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At the entrance, a red car stopped at the gates. Its trunk opened and a military policeman went to the back to inspect the contents. It was a shabby old car with an empty, shabby, old trunk. Seeing no illegal materials in it, the policeman shut the trunk.

The other policeman, on the other hand, held a mirror which was attached to a long pole, under the vehicle and scanned its underside. When he found nothing, he walked to the tinted driver's side window.

Slowly, the window rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man wearing a hat and darkened shades which covered his eyes. The man smiled at the policeman.

The policeman smiled back and asked, "Where are you headed to?"

"Oh, I'm trying to find a place to spend the night. I've been travelling for hours now and I was afraid that this car might break down in the middle of nowhere."

"Ah, you've come to the right place." the guard spoke. He held out a brochure of the outpost and a map to the man. "Here is the map around Raven and the brochure has the list of all the facilities in this place. Please, enjoy your stay." the guard then stood aside to let the vehicle pass.

"Thank you very much," the man said, putting the brochure and map on the empty seat beside him. "I'm very sure I will." and he drove off.

The car made a left on the second block. The man drove casually, just like the other cars. He traversed his vehicle through the many twists and turns of the settlement until he realized that he was far from the lodging area.

He rounded a corner into a minute alley. It was large enough to accomodate his vehicle yet small enough to be unnoticeable. Even with his dark sunglasses on, the sun's glare was relentless, forcing him to pull the sun visor down. At the end of the alley, he stopped and check for any vehicles passing by through the road.

When it was clear, he turned left and made a right at the second block. As he drove, his eyes scanned for a certain building. It was a point of interest and he must get there quickly and do his business.

But with all the military buildings around him, he could not tell which one's which; they all look alike. "It is an old warehouse..." he mumbled, recalling what was told to him earlier morning.

Finally, he found it. One block away from him, on his right, was the warehouse. It was pretty large, and soldiers walked around it. "Yep, that is it." He recalled the description given to him: it had a flight of metal stairs on one side, with a dumpster beside it. The building was painted green, with the acronym A.A.F. which means, Avalanche armed forces written on top. He could faintly see all of those things from where he is. "No doubt about it."

As he crossed the intersection, a pickup truck screeched towards him from the right. It swerved left, in an attempt to avoid the old, red, car. Unfortunately, it partly succeeded in doing so. Its metal bumper guard clipped the rear right fender of the red car, causing it to uncontrollably swerve to the right.

The car inevitable smashed into the warehouse with metal-crunching force, creating a hole and entering the building uninvited. A large crate stopped it from entering further.

Immediately, soldiers rushed into the scene. First, they checked the crates for any damage before they went over to the car to check the victim.

Miraculously, the dazed man kicked the door open and crawled out of his totalled car. Some of the soldiers came to help him walk out until the pickup driver came running towards them. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I guess so, just a little dazed. You know that you're going to pay for the damage to my car. I haven't paid the insurance company its due."

"I will, don't worry. But first, let me get you to a hospital." The pickup driver took the man by his arm and helped him to the truck. He then turned to one of the soldiers, "Do you know where the nearest hospital is?"

"Well, there are no civilian hospitals around here..." the soldier replied, "but there is a military hospital just around the corner if you need."

The pickup driver put the man on the passenger's seat of his truck and closed the door. "Thanks, but I think it would be better if this guy goes to a civilian hospital."

"Alright then, be careful next time. You could've killed somebody."

"It will never happen again." he replied, before entering his truck and driving off.

In the truck, the passenger took off his shades and hat, "You were just in time."

"Always was. Brought enough?"

"More than enough."

"Good. Now let's get outta here." the truck driver pulled a thick sheet of blanket from under the seat and tossed it to his passenger. "Here, cover yourself with this."

The man obeyed and covered himself up, only exposing his eyes and hair. He then leaned his head back and watched as the truck followed two other cars. "Hey, there's an exit just nearby."

"Unless you want to draw attention by being the only civilian vehicle that came from a suspicious accident and leaving through an exit that is rarely used by civilians, then, by all means. We go along with the others who are leaving." the driver blurted out.

"You know, you could've been more gentle."

"Sorry. This truck's pretty large."

After a short drive, the driver spoke, "We're near. Don't look too suspicious to the guards."

The passenger nodded and made sure that he was covered properly. Then he closed his eyes.

As they arrived at the gate, the guard saluted cooly, "Hope you enjoyed your stay."

The driver smiled and returned the gesture. When they left, he spoke, "Do it now."

Back at the site, a soldier fixed the chain under the chasis of the old, red, car, making sure that it held firmly in place. The chain was then attached to a tow truck.

As the men fixed the chains, a soldier stood guard. At the corner of his eye, he noticed a faint, green glow inside the car. Out of curiosity, he walked through the wreckage and peered into the window. He scanned around for the source of the glow and found it under the driver's seat.

He reached in and tried to feel the object under the seat. When his hand was firmly grasped around its smooth edges, he pulled it out. It was a strange device, with a green light that blinked. His eyebrows narrowed when an all too familiar design caught his eye.

He gasped when he realized what it was and almost immediately, the blinking green light stopped blinking and turned red.

And then, everything turned fiery hot.

Back at the truck, the two men watched behind them as a colossal pillar of black smoke rose from the horizon.

Everything was in commotion. People scrambled everywhere in panic and fear, and the choking fumes of the thick, black smoke made the place look like an erupted volcano.

There were yelling, running, crashing and screaming almost everywhere you look. Noon turned to night as the smoke spread through the atmosphere.

And peace was smiling.

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Miles away, a plate crashed onto the floor, shattering both itself and the anxiety of those who were expecting a certain person to come back.

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	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the long update. Things are getting quite hectic for me so, expect a lot of these sorts of things from the future. I apologize for the inconvenience.  
Now on to the story 

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Pieces of porcelain scattered the floor, creating an intricate, abstract design while pieces of food add as the finishing touches of the accidental masterpiece. The abstract work of art reflects what its creator currently feels: despair, worry, sadness, shock and possibly even grief.

How amazing it is, the power media has over a person's emotions. The child went over to the small television set and turned it off, gently dropping his head and letting these negative emotions run through his body. He could not and would not stomach the event he just witnessed.

It was as if he was there, experiencing firsthand, watching at the chaos and the death of a loved one.

Hurried footsteps were heard rushing down the stairs. Long strands of black hair eventually came into view. There was no doubt that it would be she who would come, for the child knows how much a mother loves her children.

"Denzel! What's wrong? Are you okay?" came a slightly worried voice.

The softness, the warmth, the care in those simple words were enough to gently comfort the child. "Tifa, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drop the plate. I'll clean it up right away." and he began to get broom.

"No, no, no, it's okay. I'll take care of it. You just grab a seat and relax." Tifa instantly had a broom in her hand and began to sweep the mess- the sad work of art.

Her motherly instincts kicked in, prompting her to solve the problem she knew Denzel had. "So, anything eventful lately?"

"Not much." the boy watched her.

"Not much?"

"Yeah, nothing much."

When Tifa finished the menial job, she returned the broom before sitting down next to Denzel. "That 'nothing much' means 'something much', Denzel."

The boy looked at her and forced a smile. "It's nothing really. Don't worry. The plate just slipped from my hands."

"I see gloom in your eyes. Come on, you can tell me."

The smile slowly faded and Denzel looked away towards the bar. Tifa peered over his shoulder and saw what he was looking at. Over the bar, where she puts the drinks for the customers to see, was an object. It was small yet it meant so much to them. Tifa slightly felt the sadness in the boy and her face no longer shone as brightly. "You miss him, don't you?"

The boy sighed before finally answering, "Do you miss him?"

"Denzel," Tifa placed a tender hand on his shoulder. "I miss him too."

"Will he come back?"

Tifa was shocked at this sudden question. "Denzel! Why do you doubt?"

"I'm not doubting..." he sighed, "I just need assurance." he rested his head on the table, looking intently at the picture on the wall.

"Of course he will come back Denzel. He will not leave us ever again."

"How do you know that?" the boy looked at her, tears are threatening to well up in his eyes.

Tifa let her lower jaw drop as fear began to engulf her. There was a hint of disappointment in her for what the way he acted. Yet, there was still that small amount of fear inside her, slowly invading her emotions. "Something happened, hasn't it?"

"Tifa, I love Cloud." his voice broke, "He's like my dad." the boy placed his head on Tifa as she pulled him into a comforting embrace.

"Yes I know," she gently brushed his hair. "Marlene loves him, our friends love him,"

The boy looked up at her, "How about you, do you love him?"

Tifa paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. The whirling blades of the ceiling fan suddenly became a lot more audible.

"Don't worry Tifa, I know you do. Eyes can speak too, you know."

Tifa smiled. Denzel was pretty mature for his age. "You know that Cloud loves us all, right?"

Denzel nodded. The tears had stopped from welling in his eyes. Denzel wiped them away and began to smile.

"That's why he will come back."

It was more than enough of an assurance for the boy and he replied, "Thank you Tifa." he then flashed a grin.

"Alright then, why don't you go up to your room and clean yourself up?" Tifa spoke, letting go of the frail body. The boy nodded and walked towards the stairs. Tifa could sense how short-lived his happiness was. Even if she gave him more than just an assurance, nothing can ever beat an absolute assurance. And the only absolute assurance they can receive is Cloud returning to them.

As soon as the boy was out of sight, she threw away her facade and revealed her true face: A face that was etched with worry and fear. Her motherly composure instantly turned into a helpless child.

Something terrible happened and until she receives that absolute assurance, she will be bothered endlessly. Fear made a home in her heart- fear of losing someone dear to her.

"Cloud..." she pleaded softly, dropping her face in her hands. "please be okay..." her heart began to burn as fear set foot in it.

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"Is everyone okay?" one of the soldiers asked, standing up.

"Just a bit shaken." Yuffie replied. She furiously wiped the dust off her clothes. "Was that an earthquake?"

"Looks like it."

As soon as she was ready, she remembered her two friends who investigated the operation up on the hill. Yuffie gasped and ran towards their position. A not so long ago, Cloud and Vincent made her stay with the van. Of course, she felt like she was treated like a little girl and judging her personality, she hated it; she was more than capable to take care of herself. This can be proved by the past adventures she had with them.

But somehow, she knew why they suddenly treated her this way. The past events of chaos and unrest put a significant amount of stress on the planet. In order for it to recuperate, it had to replenish its energy source, gathering whatever available energy it can feel on the surface.

And that means that all her materias are now marbles with no value. And she and her friends are stripped of their abilities. The great ninja and daring thief, Yuffie Kisaragi is being protected- overprotected, as a matter of fact, because all of them can die easily.

Luckily for them, the planet did not decide on taking away the life force surrounding it, or else every living organism will die. Or better yet, it's a good thing the planet even recuperated. If not, it would've collapsed, sending every living organism to a horrible death.

For now, she had to hurry and make sure that Vincent and Cloud were alright. That was a pretty strong earthquake and who knows what might have happened to them in the hilly forest.

Finally, she heard faint voices. She slowed down to a walk, the voices directing her towards the right direction. Over the small clearing, she could see some soldiers helping up a bomb squad member. She giggled inwardly as the heavy pads prevented the irritated man from getting up on his feet.

Then she heard a faint voice, calmly speaking a familiar word, "Cloud." now her attention was directed at the voice, "come on, Cloud."

She saw a red-caped man, kneeling over a spiky blonde-haired figure. The blonde was not moving, causing her heart to pound wildly. Her eyes shifted from the red-caped man, who was now gently slapping the face of the blonde, to the ex-SOLDIER lying on the ground and locked there.

"I thought we told you to stay with the van."

"I'm not a little girl anymore. Vincent, how's Cloud?" she answered.

"Unconscious. He's fine; just hit his head on a rock."

"Oh." she sighed, the heavy load in her heart disappeared, "here, lemme help ya."

Vincent stood back as Yuffie approached and knelt beside the unconscious figure. She then cracked her knuckles and began slapping him madly, "Come on, blondie! Get up!" she smirked as the man groaned.

She then glanced at Vincent and spoke, "He'll wake up shortly."

Although the approach seemed too rough, Vincent did not comment on it.

"So, all blown up?" the ninja asked, trying to break the silence.

Vincent nodded. "Nothing was left."

"That earthquake was kinda strong, wonder where it came from."

The man shrugged.

They watched as Cloud began to stir and slowly open his eyes. "Cloud! Finally! Ya alright spike?"

"Wha-what happened? Ow..."

Vincent took a few steps closer, "There was a pretty strong earthquake. You stumbled and hit your head on a rock."

"Really? I hit both of my cheeks on a rock?"

Yuffie changed the topic, "Hey, now that we're all okay, why don't we eat somewhere, I'm starving! Cloud's paying, he made me wait!"

"Huh?"

The leaves rustled as sounds of heavy footsteps hurried towards them. A soldier came out of the bushes and hurried towards the lieutenant and whispered in his ear.

The lieutenant's face did not change and remained serious however, there was a hint of concern trying to break through it. He turned to the three people watching them and spoke, "There's a big problem." He then looked at the other soldiers in the area, "We better go." and he followed the messenger. The rest went after them while Vincent and Yuffie waited for Cloud to stand before they left.

As they neared the van, they could smell faint fumes of smoke. Then they saw the men staring at something. When they saw what the soldiers were staring at, they could not help but stare as well.

Due to their vantage point, the view of the settlement was good. And so was the view of the destruction right in the middle of it. The most dominant was a large pillar of smoke which rose hundreds of feet in the air.

"What happened there?" Vincent asked.

The lieutenant, slightly unfazed by the trouble, ordered. "Report!"

The soldiers snapped out of it and one of them stood at attention in front of the lieutenant. "Sir, some unstable ammunition from the armory exploded. The armory and all its contents were taken out."

The lieutenant turned to the three. "We are defenseless. All our ammo and supplies are gone."

Yuffie spoke, her cheerful tone failed to uplift the spirits of all those around her, "Hey, there are lots of ammo from other bases that can be sent here. Can't we contact them?"

"Even if we did, it is much too risky to commission supply convoys. They will be attacked."

"What puzzles me," Cloud spoke, "Is how they know whenever supply operations are underway?"

"We assume that there are spies around. We have begun operations in all bases to track down these spies but unfortunately, no outcome was favorable. Until then, we have stopped all military operations in and out of the cities and the outpost."

"Soldiers do not assume, lieutenant." Cloud corrected. "It's not right to act on suspicions alone."

The lieutenant smiled, "Well then, there ARE spies around."

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Soft steps treaded upon the desert surface. The silhouette of a small creature hurriedly crosses through the vast sea of sand.

On its back was a man- a man wearing clothes which identifies himself as a member of Reeve's famed legions. He slumped heavily on the back of the creature, allowing it to bring him to his desired destination. A man, especially a military man, is known for the straight, upright and confident composure he brings along with him whenever he goes. This composure can only be broken if an external force breaks him.

A certain force however, an external force, caused this man to limply sit on the back of this creature. He wished to close his eyes and rest, to let the pain end. However, he had a job to do; a job which will save his comrades, if he is lucky.

If luck chose the other side however, then this job, id completed successfully, will avenge his comrades.

But first he must make sure that his creature is headed to the right direction. And he must hurry.

He bobbed as the creature took each step, closer and closer to their destination, yet far from it. The patch on his right arm had a unique design which only he and his comrades have. He is very much proud of having it. It was a shield-shaped patch with the silhouette of a black chocobo on it. A sword ran through the chocobo, pointing downwards. Below it was the number IV.

He remembered all the difficult trials he underwent before he became what he was right now. During those trials, his comrades were there, sympathizing with him, all wishing to achieve the same goal.

He remembered how he and his comrades sacrificed themselves for each other. His comrades were there with him in good times and bad times and now that they needed him, he will not let them down. 'Cavalry unit, fourth legion.' he thought.

Blood from a gunshot wound on his side began to drip on his chocobo's feathers. Months of training urged him to take out a handkerchief and wipe the blood off his chocobo's back. During their training, they learned that their chocobos must be cared for and loved by them as an extension of their bodies. A cavalry unit is worthless without chocobos, and it is worthless if there were no soldiers to mount the chocobos.

He felt too weak that he reconsidered the idea. Instead of reaching for his handkerchief, he gripped the harness tighter with a hand, and his wound with the other. His chocobo worked as hard as it could to carry its friend.

Reeve's third and fourth legions of the Avalanche military are stationed in Kalm. It would take him a few more hours to reach his fellow legionnaires in that city but still, his care for his comrades forced him to divert to Midgar and ask whatever help he can get from the first and second legions there. Time was running out and he had to act fast.

This decision would be much better for him. And his comrades.

The scorching heat seared through the wound and drained the life out of him. His hold began to loosen and the world started to spin. Time began to slow down and his chocobo's head began to blur. The sand stretched even further and white spots began to form in his sight.

He pushed himself forward, face full of determination and pain, both fighting for the same spot in his face. Determination had held its ground for a while before pain overpowered it, driving it away from his face.

The man eventually saw nothing but white as he let himself be taken away. He last saw a few glimpses of his chocobo's head and sand, followed by nothing but sand. Then, whiteness completely blocked his vision.

After a few moments of sheer solitude, the whiteness began to fade away, revealing nothing but endless sand again. He lowered his head and saw that he was riding his chocobo. The wound on his side was completely gone. He turned to his left to see four of his comrades riding their chocobos. Behind him, three of his comrades were following in a straight line, all mounted on chocobos.

He looked further back and saw a truck following them. Behind the truck, he could barely see more of his comrades due to the truck blocking his view of them. The sight was awfully familiar. It was like deja vu.

Then he realized that his subconscious mind had involuntarily played back the memory of what happened a while ago. The cavalry unit of the fourth legion was tasked to bring some relief supplies to Raven outpost, following the accident that happened in the armory.

He watched over the hill to the right as a comrade of his emerged and directed his chocobo towards them.

"It's clear over on the east side." the scout reported.

One of the sergeants spoke, "Send another scout up ahead. Report anything to me."

A man volunteered and sped up his chocobo, moving far ahead of the group.

All of them knew that they will be ambushed and they are preparing for it.

A while later, they came across two figures lying on the ground. It took only a few moments to register in their minds that the figures were the scouts that were sent earlier.

Immediately after that, gunfire hailed them. The swift chocobos were able to maneuver in time, sparing the lives of all except one soldier during the initial bursts. The truck immediately sped up while the soldiers on the back fired. This move luckily made a rocket miss them.

The projectile landed on the sand and detonated, spraying it all over the other cavalrymen.

The man heard his sergeant bark an order and immediately, he found himself at rank with some of his comrades beside him. Their sergeant took a position at the left end of their flank and took out a whistle. The man looked on as they faced the hill on the left. On top were flashes of gunfire, directed at them. They calmed their panicked chocobos as bullets sprayed the sand around them.

Then he heard a long, shrill whistle followed by a reverberating yell from his comrades. He heard himself yell as well then afterwards, he realized that they were headed full speed towards the top of the hill. Their chocobos raced each other, vying to be the first to the top.

The soldier saw the man on his right suddenly cock his head back and tumble off his chocobo. The poor man's left leg got entangled with the harness as he fell backwards. The adrenaline rush of the chocobo caused it to not feel the changes that happened on its back. It continued running, dragging the dead legionnaire behind it.

After witnessing the death of a comrade, the man took aim with his rifle and fired at the top of the hill. Months of training taught them to properly aim and shoot whilst mounted on a chocobo. The others followed suit. Next to him, blood spurted from a chocobo's head, causing it to drop forward, taking the yelping rider along with it.

Bodies, man and chocobo, rolled down the hill as shots hit their mark.

Then as they neared their target, he holstered his rifle and took out a small, hand-sized pole from his belt. He flipped the switch and the pole extended, turning into a spear. He aimed it at his unseen target and braced himself. All around him, his comrades were at the same position as he was. Time slowed and he could see bullets pass by him, left and right, their tracers following.

The intensity of the shots grew as they closed the gap between them and their attackers.

As they approached their destination, he could hear yells of fear from the top of the hill followed by a drastic decrease of gunfire at them. He smiled with much enthusiasm as he heard the enemy rout from the charge.

In a split second, his chocobo leapt into the air, and over the top of the hill. He saw one of their attackers quickly backing away from the counter-attack. He didn't allow the man time to react as he drove the spear right into the man's heart. The force dragged the man a few feet before he pulled the spear from the dead man's chest.

It was a victorious onslaught as he speared another man. These guys unleashed chaos at them and now, they were delivering chaos right to their doorsteps.

He was slightly shocked as he took the time to take a look at one of the men he had slain. He gasped at the black uniform, "These guys are..."

His good spirits were short-lived though, as he heard the rapid fire of a high caliber machine gun. Sand popped around him and his comrades started dropping around him, dragging their chocobos along. Apparently, the enemy's Armored Personnel Carrier, equipped with a mounted machine gun arrived to reinforce the nearly lost position.

He watched as another man was swept off his chocobo as bullets went straight through his body. The frightened creature ran down the hill.

He saw another bleeding man crawl towards his dying chocobo, repeatedly calling the creature in pain. He yelled the bird's name one last time before bullets made holes on his body, letting his soul escape.

It was clear that the enemy did not want them to speak of their discovery and was set on killing them all.

It was then that he realized that he was one of the last few men standing. He holstered his spear and equipped his rifle. He was ready to fight to the end.

But before he could urge his chocobo to a charge, a hand grasped his leg. He looked down at the hand, trailing his gaze from it, to the arm, then finally to the man who owns them.

It was their dying sergeant. The officer's dead chocobo lay on his body and his wounds made him too weak to push it off. "Run away... Get... Help..." He spoke with much difficulty. "Tell... Them... Go... That's an order."

With that, the hand fell limply.

Without a word, he urged his chocobo to run, away from the carnage and death, away from the loss and pain. They left towards Kalm, to get help.

But even as they ran, the carnage, the death, the loss, and the pain came with him, as a bullet ripped right through his side.

Bullets then began to rain on him, whizzing by his ear and landing on the sand beside him.

Fortunately, his chocobo ran fast enough and they were able to outrun their pursuers. As the chaos disappeared and silence came, the pain of his wound kicked in.

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"Reeve said that Shinra admitted to losing some landmines." Cloud spoke, closing his PHS.

The three watched as firetrucks and military vehicles sped by, sirens wailing.

Yuffie asked, "Why would Shinra have landmines if they are with the restoration effort?"

"Good question," Cloud replied, "Why would Reeve have ten fully armed legions if they shoulder most of the restoration effort?"

"Shinra's up to something." came a monotonous voice. Vincent was deep in thought.

The three were on their way to the site. As they neared it, the atmosphere became darker and gloomier. Objects can barely be seen and vehicle headlights are the only visible parts of a car.

Cloud and Vincent pulled Yuffie back as headlights and lights from a siren raced in front of her. This time, she did not protest at what they did. "Thanks guys." was all she managed to say.

"Watch your step and be careful." Cloud scolded her.

"Yes papa spike. Hey, I'm not a little girl anymore. I can very much take care of myself."

By now the pungent smell of the fumes had increased in intensity. The three had to cover their noses and mouths with pieces of cloth, either from their clothing, like what Yuffie did, or from their handkerchiefs.

"Hey look!" Yuffie pointed.

Two familiar men walked away from the burning rubble. Both wore rather clean suits. One man wore it improperly while the other dressed neatly. The one who wore it improperly had red hair and a pair of goggles strapped on his forehead. The other was bald and had a pair of sunglasses on. The man with the red hair looked back to see if anyone was following them before they entered an alley.

"What are those two doing here?" Vincent wondered.

Cloud jogged after them, followed by Vincent and Yuffie. He looked left and right to make sure that there were no vehicles passing before he broke into a run. As soon as he did, a truck passed right in front of him.

When it left, their quarries were gone.

As soon as they reached the other side of the road, they looked around, hoping to find any sign of the two mysterious turks. Cloud did not say anything but his eyes asked the question, "Where could they've gone?"

"Looks like they have something to do with this 'accident'." Vincent stated.

The young ninja commented, "Well, whatever it is, they're involved. Turks mean Shinra and since Turks are here, then Shinra's here. Right?"

"We better go to the obliterated armory. We may find the answer there." Cloud spoke.

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The man felt a small tug on his shoulder, followed by a faint voice. With eyes closed, he reached out and felt a solid, curved object. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

"Hey buddy, you okay?" the voice spoke, more clearly this time.

As soon as he focused his blurry vision, he was greeted by the beak of a familiar chocobo. It was looking down at him. "Hey..." he spoke, brushing his hand through its feathers. "Am I dreaming or did you just talk?"

"Alright, he's okay." The voice came. After that, he heard more voices and footsteps, followed by clanging equipment. He looked to his left and saw two men kneeling beside him. They wore helmets with a red cross painted on it. On their right shoulders, each had a patch with a huge cross that seem to encompass the width of their shoulders.

In the middle of the cross was the number II

"Second legion? Where am I?" he spoke.

"At the outskirts of Midgar dude. You're shot pretty bad but don't worry, there's a hospital nearby. It's a good thing we decided to go on patrol." one of the medics spoke as he administered care on the legionnaire's wound.

The current condition the man was in suddenly made him remember, "I need help. We were ambushed on a mission. Is there any way to contact HQ in Kalm?"

"We have a phone in our truck. You can contact HQ on our way to the hospital." The medic replied, helping unfold a stretcher that was handed to him. "You're lucky to have survived. None of those who experienced an ambush ever came back."

The man watched as his chocobo was loaded onto another truck.

"Feed him well and please take care of him." the man spoke.

The medic nodded at the request and continued, "All those who have seen the attackers perished in the attacks. So until now, we have no clues as to how we are going to quell this insurgency." the medic added.

"I've seen the enemy."

All activity stopped and their eyes and ears were directed at the wounded cavalryman. "What?"

"Firsthand. I killed two of them up close and personal."

"Who are they? How do they look like?"

"That's why I need to contact HQ right away."

-  
A/N Alright, here's chapter 9. Chapter 10 will come out soon so don't fret. Enjoy.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Rejoice! Our savior is 2005 years old! As an added bonus, I took the liberty of creating the tenth chapter for this Christmas. Consider it as a Christmas gift for all those who can't wait. Hehehe. Peace to you all.  
Now on with the story...

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Life is a cycle. It is a cycle based on the theory that nothing lasts forever. Living beings live their lives to the fullest until they die. When they die, their descendants start to live their full lives before dying. Their descendants then will live and die. So will their descendants, and the next, and the next. It is an endless cycle that continues to make the world go round.

At first, the planet was at peace. When Shinra came along, war broke out, the evil twin of peace leading the charge. For years, Avalanche and Shinra forces struggled against each other, leaving destruction in their wake.

Eventually Avalanche gained a stable foothold and despite Shinra's efforts to topple it down, Avalanche remained strong and won a costly victory against their rival. Two years of peace ensued.

A new threat suddenly emerged, thrusting the world back into the devastation it had experienced. The last remaining members of Avalanche struggled yet again to combat this mighty foe, earning a narrow victory.

Now everyone began to rebuild what was lost, thinking that this well-earned peace would last.

But as always, the cycle continues and the tranquil hustle and bustle of a recovering world slammed right into a large wall, forcing it to divert to an undesired location. Something has disturbed this process of moving on.

It is now that the world is gearing up for yet another fracas. But before the inevitable completely befalls upon the battle-hardened veterans of the planet, there is time alloted for their last moments of happiness.

And nothing would bring more joy to one man than to spend time with the family he cared for. After successfully completing the job requested of him, he parted with his two friends and began his trip home. He will be meeting those friends again in the future and that was what he was sure of.

As he zoomed across the sand in his bike, the desert sun pounded on him. It was much hotter than usual and the sting on his skin increased in intensity. He took no notice of this for his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the people he will be seeing again. As his anxiety built up, he pumped more juice out of the engine.

Soon, very soon, he will be home. And this time, he will spend more time with the people inhabiting it. He will try to make up for the lost time which he had wasted.

The blonde wiped the dust off his goggles with a gloved hand. Only a few more kilometers left before he can finally see them again. He pulled on the handle, attempting to squeeze the last drops of juice from the bike's engine and silently cursed when the bike gave no response. 'When I arrive, I have to tune up this thing.'

When he arrives, maybe he'll pass by some shops to buy gifts for the three. First, he thought of Denzel and what he liked. He thought for a moment, browsing through what Denzel would usually do. Probably he can get a hint of what the boy might like.

When he could not think of anything, a sad realization struck him: He did not spend enough time with them, thereby giving him almost no idea on how the child's been. In fact, he knew almost nothing about them all.

He was ashamed of himself. What if his relationship with them had already drifted apart? Sure, for this time, his job took only a few hours but over-all, he spent more time on the road than in his home.

Hey, at least he helped a lot in terms of financial needs. His long and tedious deliveries gave him enough money to support his family. Ever since he had reconciled with his past and reinstated himself with Tifa and the kids, he took it upon himself to support them and shoulder all the expenses. Whatever Tifa earned in the bar would be saved for her personal use.

This is what Cloud wanted. This is how he loved his new family. Tifa, on the other hand, protested to this way of life and offered to shoulder half of the expenses herself. Cloud strongly disagreed, leaving Tifa crestfallen.

Eventually, Cloud's proposition was followed and that way of life continued. He wanted Tifa to understand that this was how he could show his love to the family. Of course, he never told her about this reason and so, he just hoped that Tifa would find out. He hoped Tifa would understand that this is how he loved them.

Or so he thought. Because of that, he spent more time on deliveries and less time with them in order to keep the money rolling. What he did not see was that the love they needed from him was his presence there with them.

Has he truly been home?

Did he actually love his family, or did he perfectly convince himself that he did in order to pursue a job he enjoys?

He did enjoy this delivery job but one thing's for sure, he loved his family so much. He convinced himself that he loved them because he actually did love them. And this time, he will make things straight. He will listen to the needs of his family.

But first, he must bring something home to them.

He felt more of his anxiety grow as he passed by Midgar due to the infallible fact that the city of Edge is nearby; His home was nearby.

He entered one of the rebuilt freeways and followed the signs leading to his destination. After a few minutes of dodging cars, he exited the freeway and passed by a sign that read, "City of Edge"

Luckily, he was near one of the little malls in the city so he decided to go there. Probably there might be some stuff there that he can fish out for Tifa and the kids.

When he found a suitable area, he parked his bike and killed the engine. He then removed his goggles and gloves and placed them in a compartment in it. After that, he dismounted the machine and entered the mall.

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"Tifa, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh! I'm okay Denzel."

The little boy looked unconvinced at the older woman as she wiped the wine glass clean.

"You've been wiping the same glass over and over again." Marlene commented. By now the little girl was fully aware of the news but unlike Denzel, she knew that Cloud was alright.

Denzel needed some convincing to calm him of his worry for Cloud. It was pretty hard for Marlene to cheer up her playmate but she eventually triumphed. She wished that she could be like Tifa- a good mother who knows best. Marlene wanted the ability to solve the problems of Denzel and of others' with ease and make them happy. Such innocence was there in a simple child's wish.

Eventually Denzel had gotten over it and had no more worries about Cloud not returning. This is how much Denzel loved Cloud; a little news that MAY involve Cloud being in danger easily breaks the heart of the little boy.

But Tifa... Yes, Tifa. She was pretty much bothered by the news and this time, Marlene and Denzel's comforting could not completely calm the young woman's troubles. Was this how much Tifa loved Cloud?

"Oh. Guess you're right Marlene, hehe." Tifa forced a small laugh before setting the glass down on the table and picking the other one up.

Denzel looked from Marlene's concerned face to Tifa's worried face. He went over to the one with the worried face and attempted to comfort her again, "Tifa you told me that Cloud will come back, and that he is okay. I believe you so don't worry anymore."

The brunette placed the glass on the table and rested her head on her hands. She sighed, "Yes I know. But there is something else."

"What's that?"

Tifa smiled. She was glad for the recovery of the little boy. It was such a good thing to see the brightness in his face again, and this made Tifa feel mad at herself for bringing gloom inside this household.

She almost laughed at her own irony. She was the one who kept the smiles and the joys confined inside the walls of this bar yet she herself kept none for herself. And now, it was a once gloomy kid who was cheering her up.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about something, thats all." Tifa finally answered. It is true that she herself has somewhat gotten over the news but there was something in it that was bothering her. Something else was about to happen and she fears for the kids' lives.

And she fears for Cloud's life as well.

"If that's all," Marlene replied, "then there's nothing to worry about right?"

"Right..." Tifa murmured.

The two kids were unsure about Tifa's answer. It is either they did not hear it, Tifa spoke softly, or there was really something to worry about. Marlene is not enjoying the uneasy silence in this household. This barely happens and when it does, she braces herself for the inevitable.

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"

The kids didn't answer; They couldn't answer.

The brunette stopped whatever she was doing and knelt down in front of them. She placed either hand on the two children's shoulders and spoke in a gentle, motherly tone, "There is nothing wrong, okay? Do not worry about a thing."

Over the years, the time she had spent with these two children altered her relationship with them. At first she was a babysitter of the two and considered them as friends. As time passed, her care for them grew and the sense of family kicked in. Eventually the kids treated her as both a friend and mother, in which her motherly instincts began to develop.

Now, as the matriarch and mother of the family, it is her job to keep them safe and give them extraordinary care. As a part of this job, she had to make sure that their home was always happy. Sure there will be problems but she had to make it a point to paste those smiles on their faces despite all these negative circumstances around them.

"Tell you what," she began. "Why don't I fix you guys something to eat?"

"No thanks, I'm not hungry." Denzel said. He looked at Marlene and waited for her reply.

The little girl just shook her head, "Not hungry either."

Tifa raised an eyebrow at this, "Oh? Too bad." she stood and walked towards the kitchen, "I think there's some cho-co-late cake left in the fridge."

The kids' eyes grew wide and they looked at each other.

"Chocolate cake?" Marlene whispered. "I didn't know we still had chocolate cake!"

"We did!" Denzel replied, his voice as soft as a whisper, "We helped Tifa bake it, remember?"

"Yeah but remember, when we tried to get some, there wasn't any?"

Denzel scratched his head, "Well, the only chocolate cake I remember is the one Tifa baked."

"I think Tifa's bluffing," Marlene pouted.

"Aren't you gonna get it?" Came a voice from the kitchen.

"You're bluffing, there's no more-" Marlene was interrupted by Denzel's hand as he clamped it over her mouth.

"Aha!" the voice said, "I knew it!" Tifa appeared from the kitchen, a satisfied smirk on her face. "You two tried to sneak some cake didn't you?"

"We did not Tifa!" Denzel defended, his hand still on Marlene's mouth.

The little girl furiously shook her head in agreement.

"Then how did you know there was none?" Tifa continued her assault.

The two said nothing and continued to shudder at Tifa.

"It's a good thing I kept it somewhere safe. Who knows how far in the bowels of your little tummies that cake could've gone to."

The two looked at her in defeat. Denzel unclamped his hand on Marlene's mouth.

"Come now you two, that rich chocolatey goodness is waiting for you." With that, Tifa turned and entered the kitchen.

Swallowing the saliva in his watering mouth, Denzel followed. "Race you to the cake! Winner gets the bigger chunk!"

"Hey, that's unfair!" Marlene ran after him, giggling all the way.

For the matriarch, serving these children and seeing their bright faces bring the sparkle in her eyes. It made her forget all her worries.

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Night has began fall. Day life deteriorated significantly, giving way to the nightlife. The long hours of pondering about certain gifts to certain people was even more tedious than digging up money from one's pockets.

Cloud sat on one of the chairs down at the foodcourt. Dinner time is only an hour away and people have began to shop for supper at the various stalls, hoping to avoid the heavy traffic of famished shoppers when dinnertime arrives. The blonde decided that it was a good idea to eat dinner just like the other wise people around him.

Anyway, he's not yet done with his business there. Now that he had the kids out of the way, he needed to think of something to give to Tifa. If only he had stayed with his family longer, then he would not have trouble with this, and he would've been home hours ago.

Ah, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene... He could not wait to see them again.

But right now, he thought about what to eat here. Maybe some noodles would do justice to his disgruntled tummy.

Or maybe Tifa's cooking and the warm company of the three can do much better? Correction, it will do much better.

He stood up, grabbed the medium-sized bag and left. Thinking of what to give Tifa could be easier. All he had to do was pull out some of their memories from the back of his mind.

Maybe he could find something from his memory with her during Meteor. Or probably their adventure against Shinra and Sephiroth. Wait, Tifa hated war. She despised it for the horrible memory it brought back to her about Nibelheim and her father when she was a child.

That's it. The blonde smiled, an idea popped in his head. Maybe he can dig up something from his childhood memories with her. With this new idea, he began to think way back to the past, however, he found it unfortunate that he could not recall anything about her since he was at the sides, watching her from afar.

First he sorted out all the memories when they were together. He found a small number of them, which gave him new light. Now he had to sort out all those memories that may have been horrible for Tifa.

Cloud climbed the steps towards the next floor, opening up another endless possibility of merchandises. He walked along the long and wide corridor, peering at each store he passed by.

As he continued his intellectual search of the past, he realized that almost none of the times he spent with Tifa during their childhood went fine. He could easily count those times with the fingers on one hand.

And none of those times could give him any hint of what to give his childhood crush. Cloud finally settled with the thing that was almost always given to a girl- a thing that definitely reminds him of Aeris.

It had been years since he bought some of it from her, yet it seemed not so long ago when he first met her and bought them. He could recall her, on one side of the street, selling them to anyone who would like to indulge in their beauty or to give it to others who might want to.

Cloud felt a slight pain in his heart as he remembered that broken promise to her. He remembered his long and arduous struggle, seeking redemption.

Until finally, he was forgiven. The heavy load, the pang of guilt and pain, the slashes of self-remorse, all lifted just because of a simple acceptance of an apology. He was given a second chance and he will definitely not screw up this time.

Cloud knew where to find a flower stand in the mall and made his way to it. Flowers may be the only thing he can give Tifa as of the moment. He'll just get a beautiful flower like no other. Yeah, that's it.

But before Cloud could descend the stairs and go to the flower shop, a store caught his eye. Aside from it being attractive, a certain object there was his object of interest. This object definitely paints a much clearer picture of his memory of so long ago.

Yes, it was perfect.

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The events of that long day had taken its toll on the homesick blonde. Now that he has something to give to the three precious people in his life, he can now go home. His disgruntled stomach attacked him, demanding food already, but Tifa's promising meals made it wait.

Cloud hung the plastic bag on one handle bar, held Tifa's gift with one hand, and drove with the other.

The more he craved to be home with them, the longer the short trip took. The mind, a part of the body that we truly rely on, can fool us. Cloud was dismayed, though slightly, but still dismayed. Why wouldn't the mind show him the reality that he was actually near?

Maybe his thoughts preoccupied the mind so much that it had no sufficient space to analyze the actual distance its owner was from his much-awaited destination. His mind needed conviction in order to function as desired, and this conviction was what Cloud gave.

The mind was given its share of space to properly analyze the data that was given to it. In no time, Cloud found himself at the front porch of the Seventh Heaven.

He parked his bike and picked up his gifts, then walked slowly to the bar. His heart pumped rapidly, bringing more blood into his brain as the mounting threat of an anxiety attack begins its siege.

This threat however, was instantly pacified. Cloud checked his watch and saw the time to be at roughly quarter past seven. He questioned the occupancy of the dark and empty establishment because it was still early for Tifa to close the bar.

Usually at this time, they would be eating dinner together. He could imagine them, talking wholeheartedly around sumptious dishes.

Maybe they've gone to eat out? Yes it is very much plausible. This thought gave Cloud an unprovoked attack from his unsettled tummy. He grumbled and tried the doorknob, 'How stupid. Tifa would never leave the bar open when she's not around.'

Cloud almost laughed at himself as he searched his pockets for a spare key. When he found it, he clutched it tightly. This simple object was the single, most important thing that unlocks his path to a home he had long searched for.

Utilizing the mechanical abilities of this special object, Cloud unlocked the door and opened it. The clang of chimes as the door passed through it greeted the tired family member and welcomed him back to the only place he called home. He took in the familiar surroundings and settled down on the couch, placing the gifts on the small table beside him.

He closed his eyes and decided to surprise Tifa and the kids when they arrived, but first, he must quell the surmounting anger his tummy had as it demanded sustenance. Cloud stood and proceded into the kitchen.

He opened the fridge and found nothing there that was ready to eat. Tifa had no idea that he was coming at this time, and he definitely has no knowledge whatsover about cooking. The fridge was out of the question.

Cloud then searched the cupboards, hoping to find something.

His eyes somewhat sparkled as he found a small cup of instant noodles. Luckily, all he had to do was boil some water and he'll have his instant dinner. Boiling water is fairly simple and he can very much accomplish that task so he settled with that.

Besides, he was craving for noodles and he didn't know why.

Cloud's eyebrows furrowed as he read the preparation instructions. Open lid halfway, put seasoning, add boiling water to the inside line, close lid, wait for three minutes, stir, and enjoy. 'Hmm, seems simple enough. Can't wait for the 'enjoy' part.' He then searched for the kettle.

Watching Tifa as she cooked and clean her utensils gave him an idea on where she puts all of those stuff. In no time, he was waiting for the water to boil.

Cloud pulled a chair out from the table and laid his head on it. Eventually, fatigue set in and his eyes began to droop, threatening him into a good night's sleep. As his eyes completely closed and his body began to relax, a shrill whistle woke him up.

The blonde focused his semi-blurry eyes on a particular object across him. Smoke escaped its mouth as it whistled for someone to notice it. Cloud heavily stood, went over to the kettle, killed the stove and brought it to the table. He opened the lid of the cup of noodles and poured the water in, and closed the lid afterwards.

He then placed the kettle in the sink and allowed it to cool. He turned to his waiting dinner: a single cup of mediocre-cooked noodles on a bare table and realized how much of a mendicant he was for he relied on Tifa for food.

Oh how he'd do anything for one of Tifa's meals. For now, he just imagined that it was Tifa who cooked the instant noodles.

Cloud found himself to be too impatient for the 'wait for three minutes' direction and skipped right into the 'enjoy' part. With his chopsticks, he munched on the still uncooked noodles with much exuberance. Anyway, while he was a regular Shinra soldier, he had to live on tasteless rations.

Uncooked noodles barely crunched in his mouth with every chomp, and some crushed pieces got stuck in his teeth. But hey, despite these, he still found his work pleasant. Or maybe he just convinced himself that it was Tifa who cooked these noodles.

After he had quelled his tummy's uprising and pacify an almost costly rebellion, he cleaned up the mess he made in the kitchen and flopped back on the couch to wait.  
Soon enough, the invasion of a bodily desire to rest proved too strong for any resistance.

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A/N Merry Christmas to you all and enjoy. 


	11. Chapter 11

Morning- It is the time of day in which things start, and where daily life springs up. For the exhausted young blonde on the couch, his morning was about to begin. Even though his eyes were shut, the aura and aroma of a fresh morning stimulated his senses and incited him to a 'shallow' relaxation.

As the morning was busy with his senses, one of them was faintly alerted by something else. This was one of the most important senses one could ever have for it can provide warnings from any harm that may come physically. This sense, the sense of touch, was excited by something that constantly bothered Cloud's face.

It came like a storm. At first you don't feel it then the next you know, it is there. When it is there, its presence is overwhelming. This definitely bothered Cloud, for he wanted to relax a little more. The annoyed blonde dismissed it as a mosquito or a fly, and as soon as he felt it again, he tried to slap it with much irritation.

He failed though, and succeeded in slapping his own face. Voices came afterwards.

Finally, it was gone... Temporarily. Cloud knew it would come back yet the everlasting desire for a little more laziness kept his guard down and he did nothing to prepare for the next wave of attacks. Sure enough, it came, surprising the unsurprised blonde. This time, it brought an ally which is nearly impossible to swat away. This ally felt warm, and had a sweet scent to it.

Cloud frowned as it began its annoying wave of assaults. First it was on his forehead, then it moved down to each eye, left first, then right. Cloud felt more of this foreign object and he found it surprisingly relaxing. Despite his frown, his lips twitched upwards and his distorted face began to soothe and smoothen out.

As soon as it passed through the bridge of his nose and on his nose, he realized that this was actually human breath. Its sweetness, warmth and comfort reminded him of his own mother. It stopped for a while, probably to take in another gulp of air. A few moments after, its femininity was there again. This time, he could feel it on his lips. And it stayed there for a while.

Even though it was soothing, it still disturbed his peace. Cloud turned his head and buried his face in the backrest of the couch. This move, though it protected his face, left a vulnerable spot on his head wide open to attacks.

The breath took advantage of this weakness and exploited it, brushing right into the relaxed but irritated blonde's ear. Cloud placed a hand over his ear and turned his head back in reaction to this fatal blow.

He tried to say something, anything to stop this relentless onslaught but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a grumble. Again, he heard those voices again, giggling in delight.

Still, Cloud kept his eyes shut, relaxation was his primary goal- a goal that grew farther and farther from his grasp. The blonde remained determined to get it back.

Soon, more assaults made any of his attempts futile.

Cloud felt that annoying feeling once again but this time, he will catch that culprit. Groggily, his eyes opened to meet a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes. Small strands of her hair was on his face.

The little girl let out a cute shriek and ran up the stairs.

Now that she was gone, Cloud can now get his much-awaited morning rest and relaxation. Somehow he peculiarly found himself lazy today. He raised his arms and placed his hands behind his head. He then closed his eyes, a satisfied smile was painted across his face.

Soon, he will be thrusted into the world of daydream land.

Suddenly, he heard a woman's voice exclaim, "Three!"

Immediately afterwards, he felt the world explode on him as the sofa turned him over to the ground and collapse onto him in a heap of pillows and cushions. His trip to daydreamland was instantly cancelled. "The hell?" his muffled voice remarked.

Laughter filled the morning air, serving as a symbol of good health and happiness in the household. The disturbed blonde didn't find anything funny and fumbled his way out of the battle-scarred rubble that was once a couch.

There were more laughter and giggles as blonde spikes began poking out of the mess, followed by a large mass of blonde. The dazed victim stood and faced the three suspects. "So, this is how you welcome me and greet me good morning?" he pouted, lips twitching upwards.

The eldest of the three replied, "And this is how you repay our generosity; scattering all your filth on my beautiful sofa?" and stiffled a small laugh. The other two ran at him, hugging him tightly.

"You're back!"

The blonde placed each hand on each child's head and gently ruffled their hair.

"Hey," the woman interrupted, "Now don't you contaminate your filth on those poor children." and crossed her arms. She received a curt smile in reply.

The little boy looked behind his shoulder, towards the woman and spoke, "See, we told you he'll be fine!"

Tifa merely smiled. Once again, she felt whole. Her family was complete and happy, now that Cloud was around. This family, as she pictured, consisted of different colors. Each color was each personality in each of them. All these colors were painted around in the canvas of their home, creating a masterpiece which, hopefully, would last.

"Well, aren't you going to join in?" a manly voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"Yeah! Come, Tifa, group hug!" came a squeak from the little girl.

"Not until that guy over there is clean." Tifa pointed. Her red orbs focused deeply into the blue, warning it.

Cloud blinked and put up the most innocent face he could make.

Tifa put on a serious face and curled her lips in. She glared at him, despite her inward smile. "Bath. Now."

The ex-SOLDIER raised his hands in resignation, "Alright, you win." He picked up the plastic bag from the table and sighed. It was a good thing he placed Tifa's gift inside it and it did not raise too much suspicion.

"Cloud, what's that?" Denzel asked, pointing at the object in his hand.

Cloud raised the bag away from their reach and lied, "Some stuff..."

"What stuff?" he asked with much curiosity.

The ex-mercenary wasn't a good liar and walked, in an attempt to escape further interrogation, "Objects. Uh, things. You know." he then smiled. "Um, better take a bath before something happens." He began to walk past Tifa.

Even if Cloud's head was facing directly ahead, his eyes were glued on her. Because of this, he caught her looking back at him. Her face became softer and more relieved as her ruby eyes followed him.

"After you're done," she whispered, "come back downstairs. I'll have breakfast ready."

Cloud faced her and whispered back, "Mmm... Can't wait."

The two suddenly found themselves unable to move. Azure locked with ruby. They stood on the same staircase, on the same flight of stairs, and on the same stair. The narrow corridor encouraged their close proximity with each other.

"I thought you were going to take a bath?" Marlene asked.

"Yea, in a short while..." Cloud spoke, as if in a trance.

A low grumble severed the connection the two had established on the stairs. Tifa blinked and smiled, her head lowered, "Looks like someone's hungry." She spoke softly, in a motherly tone.

"Yeah," Cloud replied, placing a hand on his stomach, "Since last night."

"You did not eat last night?" Tifa said, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Well, I thought maybe I could have dinner with you guys. But when I arrived you were out so..."

"So? You did not eat?"

"I thought about calling you but my PHS' battery was dead."

Tifa became silent. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead of hearing her voice, she heard Cloud's.

"But I was able to cook some instant noodles. Somehow, I was able to eat something." he tried to smile.

"Cloud, I- I'm sorry," she sighed, "We ate out and, I didn't know..."

"It's alright, I'm used to eating that way. When I was in Shinra, I enjoyed feasting on tasteless and rationed food in rusty cans."

"Cloud, you're not in Shinra anymore. You're here, in our home, and you must be eating good food!" Tifa retorted. "I'm sorry Cloud. I didn't mean to..."

"Tifa, it's my fault. I failed to inform you. Besides, I think you guys enjoyed your dinner and that was enough to fill my stomach."

"Well actually," the woman smiled, "we didn't. Food wasn't cooked well."

"Oh," Cloud looked thoughtful. "Looks like nothing can beat Tifa Lockheart's cooking."

"Thanks," Tifa smiled.

"Well, guess we're even now, eh?" Cloud took a few steps further up, "Looking forward to breakfast." then he walked away.

Back downstairs, Marlene whispered to her playmate, "See, told 'ya they like each other!"

Denzel shrugged.

Breakfast went by smoothly, obviously enjoyed by all. This is exactly how breakfast was supposed to be eaten: together as a family, eating heartily with no regrets, conversations revolving around positive topics, and good food. And as a bonus, Cloud was now clean.

Though it is agreeable that mashed potatoes mixed with tomatoes in an omelette do not seem like a very appetizing dish, the four enjoyed it.

Cooking is about love for your work. Fear of experimentation must be set aside, and exquisite taste must be developed. But most of all, there must be passion- the drive to create delicious meals. For their cook however, her dishes have all been made out of her love for the family. It is her joy to serve them with love and her passion for their smiles drives her to create such wonderful meals.

And none of those chewing on her mashed potatoes-mixed-with-tomatoes-omelette can ever deny that, save for the fact that children dislike vegetables no matter who cooked it or what or how it was cooked. But as long as it was created by Tifa's hands, no large problem was ever encountered.

It was Sunday today and the bar was closed. It was a perfect day to enjoy the company of each other.

"Alright, so what do you want to do today?" Cloud asked, swallowing a chunk of food down his throat.

"I wanna go to the mall!" Marlene piped in.

"Me too!" Denzel agreed. Food sprayed from his mouth as he spoke and immediately, he covered it with his hands in shame.

"Be careful." Tifa reminded him as she retrieved a piece of napkin, "Next time, do not talk with your mouth full." she then wiped off the half-digested mounds of omelette.

Unable to speak due to the remaining food in his mouth, Denzel nodded his head in acknowledgement, and slightly bowed it in apology.

"The child's excited." came a comment from Cloud.

Tifa sighed and crumpled the napkin, "Even so, they should learn to control themselves. People might think that they are being raised by savag-" She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she looked at Cloud.

His hair was even messier now, his cheeks were puffed due to the amount of food in his mouth, and his plate was messy. Disturbed by the woman's abrupt mid-sentence halt, he looked up at her. "What?" he asked, muffled by the omelette which occupied a large percentage of his mouth.

"Never mind," Tifa sighed again. She looked back down at her food, "Now we know who Denzel's role model is."

Marlene giggled. "So, we're going to the mall?"

Cloud raised a finger as he chewed the last bunch of the omelette from his mouth and swallowed it. After his mouth was clear he spoke, "How about you, Tif? Any place you had in mind?"

"Well," the young woman began, "I was thinking about taking a breath of fresh air in the park."

The two playmates exchanged looks of boredom and giggled at their own silliness.

"But of course, we can go to the mall first." she added.

Marlene and Denzel searched for any sign of approval on Cloud's face. Of course, it wasn't difficult for them to find it.

"Well, looks like it's alright with your 'mom', isn't it?"

Tifa's lips stretched into a smile, "Yes, why not?"

The two children faced each other with glee.

"Alright you two, now finish your food before we change our minds." Cloud warned and the two obeyed without further words said.

Breakfast went on smoothly and soon, they were done. The two kids could have left and gone to their room, if only Cloud allowed them too.

"Cloud what is it?" Marlene asked with much impatience.

"Just be patient for a moment," Cloud kept them in place. He tossed and turn, as if having a nightmare, as his eyes scanned for an object he allegedly misplaced. 'Now where did that thing go?'

It was then that Cloud noticed a disturbance under the table. This disturbance made its presence known as soon as his foot hit its familiar form.

He reached under the table and grasped the disturbance. It responded to the blonde's capturing hold by uttering a familiar crumpling sound.

"What's that?" Tifa peeked under the table.

Cloud smiled, "View's much better on top of the table- not under."

"What's in the bag Cloud?" Denzel's eyes gleamed with curiosity. He propped himself higher and attempted to peek inside the plastic bag.

Marlene tried to pull him back down on his seat. 'Behave or you're not gonna get it,' Tifa would usually say, whenever she brought something for them.

The ex-mercenary frowned and looked thoughtful, "Honestly, I have no idea. Why don't you guys take a look?"

The little girl was unable to hold herself back and released her hold of her playmate, propping herself up as well. The two were oblivious to Tifa's 'now you two behave''s and practically lunged for the plastic bag.

The two children's eyes grew at their discovery. They immediately hugged Cloud with much glee and thanksgiving.

"Cloud!" Tifa gasped, "those candies are expensive! How are you going to pay our bills?"

The man began to speak however, the brunette cut him off.

"Are you going to take more jobs now?" her voice, though soft, was very much audible. It rang through everyone's ears and commanded a resounding silence. "I'm not saying that it's unwise to give this to them; as a matter of fact, I'm glad you did." Her voice lowered again, and brought her head along with it, "it's just that, you might, you know..."

The ex-mercenary felt like something he never thought he felt before. Oddly, he felt like a hero. And for what reason, he did not understand. When the once happy world turns sad, these heroes will come and save it, and everybody will be happy again.

Now that the world is sad, here comes super Cloud to help return the upward bend on everybody's lips. "Yeah," he nodded, "Let's just say, I might begin to listen to you guys more often."

And as always, the heroes save the day and everyone is happy.

After a short while, the two youngsters were upstairs brushing their teeth by order of their mother while Cloud remained sitting on the table. He slowly lifted the nearly empty box of candies with a hand and tilted it towards him. Tifa nearly laughed at his bewildered expression as she washed the plates.

"How were they able to-" was all the blonde managed to say. It was like a storm has passed and the casualty was a horribly deformed empty box of candies.

"It's impossible to steal candy from those two babies; You'd be too late."

She heard no reply.

"Cloud, I'm sorry for what I've said," she continued, expecting to hear a vocal reply. But instead, she saw the reply and nearly jumped.

Out of the corner of her eye, a beautiful red rose appeared, wrapped in plastic. "No, I'm sorry Tif. Here, you didn't think I had forgotten all about you, right?"

Slowly, she took the rose with both hands. She mustered up as much courage as possible to lift her gaze from the red rose to his blue eyes. In those mako blue eyes, she could see the color of the rose reflected in it.

She realized that she was wrong. The red reflection in his eyes was not the color of the rose. Actually, it was ruby- the same color of her eyes.

"Meet me outside the bar tonight, after we arrive." then, Cloud playfully ruffled her hair, "You're welcome Tif." and left.

Tifa was dumbfounded. She stared at the mass of blonde as it drifted out of the room. She didn't even bother to fix her messed-up hair but continued to hold the rose with both hands.

Soon, the little happy family were out, spending the day with each other.

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"They're on to us. We must act now."

"Sir, if it would be possible, we need more resources and time. Most are ready but it is still not enough."

The chair creaked and the shadowy figure sighed, "Redouble your efforts. For now, commission all men that you can. We need to proceed with the plan right now."

"Yes sir, I'll see what I can do but I'm not sure if we can reach the target quota."

The shadow on the sofa let out a disapproving sigh, "Alright. Before you leave, I want you to take care of our little 'visitors'. They will definitely be a liability."

"Sir are you sure? I mean they are in the holding cells anyway."

"Now Neil, there are two types of people in this world. Those who follow, and those who doubt. As I know it, those who doubt usually have their very lives in doubt." The voice was stern.

Neil raised his arm in salutation, turned around, and left. As he closed the door behind him, two soldiers followed closely behind.

They continued to walk briskly down the building. Its ambience turned from dark to darker as the group went down the various floors.

As soon as they arrived in the holding cells, Neil turned to one of the soldiers, "Bring whatever men you can get down here."

The soldier nodded and left.

Neil spoke to the other soldier, "Take care of the prisoners. They pose a threat."

The soldier opened one of the cages. Two weary-looking men looked up at the soldier. The Avalanche logo on their clothing glimmered in the dim light.

Back at the cell entrance, a faint elevator ping pierced through the walls. As the door opened, groups of soldiers poured out and jogged towards the holding cells.

Loud bursts of gunfire echoed throughout the level.

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Soon, it was nightfall. The trip was very tiring and Marlene and Denzel began to droop in their exhaustion, so they had to bring the kids home.

Now, it was seven in the evening. The woman reached for the knob. Before she turned it, she browsed her mind, trying to determine if she was able to do what she needed to be done for the night. Food was out for Marlene and Denzel, the bar is clean, the glasses are now stowed inside the cupboard, and everything seems to be in order.

She opened the door and greeted the cool, night air.

It was a beautiful night. People walked the streets of Edge, cars moved smoothly with ease as traffic was not apparent, the city lights shone like diamonds in the night sky. Strange enough, the stars were not present. The starry night sky she used to look at when she was little lacked its starriness. It was pretty odd.

She looked at her watch. One of the lights reflected off its glass cover, making it a little more tedious to read the hands as it spelled seven-forty. And it seems that she was the only biological organism around the area. 'Now this isn't strange.'

Tifa sat on one of the steps and twirled the rose in her fingers in absolute boredom and impatience.

"Sorry I'm late."

Tifa looked up at the figure. She almmost tumbled over in shock. Cloud's hair was surprisingly neat yet some of the spiky strands are beginning to protrude from the blonde mass. Soon, his hair will be as messy as before.

And she loved him that way. It was... attractive. "It's alright."

Cloud flashed an excited smile and looked up at the starriless sky.

"You do know that you asked me out on a date."

"Well, I honestly have no idea." Cloud looked at her then at the rose. "There's something special about that rose," he said. "Just hold on a minute."

Tifa too was looking at it.

Cloud raised an arm at her, "Come on Tif, shall we go?"

"Cloud, as I recall, I have not exactly said 'yes' to this date." Tifa teased.

The blonde looked thoughtful, "Now let's see... Make-up, a nice blouse, a nice skirt, perfume, and shiny hair... Hardly the attire of someone who plans on staying home."

"Alright," she sighed, "Let's go, smarty pants."

The two walked side by side. Tifa held the rose with both hands.

"So, where are we going?"

Cloud slightly shrugged.

"You asked me out on a date and you have no idea where we're going?"

"Yeah, I do," the blonde defended.

Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"Well actually..." Cloud scratched his head, "No."

The young brunette smiled at her date's silliness. She took his hand in hers and was undaunted by the surprising tremble in the blonde's hand. Tifa pulled him around a bend.

"What are you doing?" Cloud uttered as he was dragged along.

"I am taking the initiative and hopefully mask the consequence due to the incompetence of my date."

"Alright but take good care of that rose. There's something very special in it." Cloud was finally able to get his feet to work as optimally as Tifa's pull. "Where are we going anyway?"

"The park."

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Heavy boots made loud, thumping sounds on the floor. One black-clad figure approached another, "Sir, all five hundred prisoners are executed."

"Good. Bring me their heads. Then deploy the troops. How much time do we have until they are ready?"

"About ten hours sir. Fastest we can do."

"Make it faster. We must begin now."

The soldier saluted and gestured to the others. The other soldiers pulled out knives and approached the stack of corpses.

Then their work began.

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The park had a small area, suitable enough for a few who would like to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It was a satisfactory park, with trees, walkways, a pond and some lampposts.

There were benches spread evenly around the park, giving their costumers plenty of views to choose from.

Tonight the park was illuminated by the bright glow of the moon. In light of this natural beauty, the lampposts were turned off in order to conserve electricity and in order for the park-goers to enjoy this moonlight.

The only thing negative about the place is that a small military outpost is situated right next to it. But the environment more than makes up for it.

Anyway, it's the military that funds the park so its location is of no question.

Cloud and Tifa sat on a bench right next to the outpost. Anyway, the view was beautiful in that area so they had no second thoughts about staying there.

Tifa studied the rose in her hand, "What's so special about this anyway?"

"Why, don't you like it? I know girls love roses."

"Yeah I do. It's just that you said there is something special about this and I wanna know what."

"Just wait, you'll find out soon enough." Cloud looked behind him at the outpost. He could see two soldiers leaning on the fence. 'At least those soldiers can admire the view. Hope I can say the same for those who can never open their eyes again.'

"Isn't this great?" came a voice beside him.

Strands of black hair whipped his face and drew his attention. He saw the smoothness of Tifa's face. The moonlight reflected off her ruby eyes, magnifying its color, and the wind gently brushed her face and played with her hair. How he wished he could be the wind. "You're beautiful tonight Tif."

"Oh," the brunette blushed. She kept on staring straight ahead. "Is that why you were looking at me?" She turned her head to face him.

Cloud immediately looked away and turned as red as Tifa's eyes. He could admit, she was beautiful. Especially how her hair danced on her face and how the redness painted it.

"Or is it because of something else?" she added.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Cloud." she looked back. "It was nothing. I have the same opinion of you too."

Cloud looked up and fumbled with a screw on the bench. "So you think I'm beautiful?" he joked.

Tifa laughed. "I think so. In fact, a good wig and a fancy dress will suit you nicely."

The blonde smiled and imagined himself wearing those. His smile faded, "Now that does not seem right."

Tifa giggled. She shifted her gaze downwards to the flower and gasped.

The tangled mass of red in her hands slowly unfurled. As the rose bloomed, she felt something bloom inside her- something that will not bloom without the person beside her.

She marvelled at the beauty unfolding in her hands.

Her heart skipped a beat as soon as nature has finished doing her wonder. Resting on one of the petals of the now opened rose was a silver figurine which glistened in the moonlight.

She took the figurine in her hand and studied it. It was a figurine of a armored man carrying a lance in one hand and a shield in the other hand. He sat on an armored chocobo. The figurine began to blur.

"Remember a long time ago, on a night similar to this, you made me promise something? I hope I'm keeping that promise 'cuz either way, I intend to do so."

Tifa looked at the man who spoke these words. Cloud, like the figurine, was blurry as well. This was when she realized that she was in tears.

She practically jumped on Cloud and hugged him tightly. She knew that Cloud would never let her go. She could feel his hands slowly wrap around her back. She could feel utmost security.

Cloud could admit, he really felt like he was a part of the family. He was accepted with utmost care and he was loved without reciprocation. And he had loved them back.

This familial love had branched out into a different kind of love- a love that can be shared, if possible, with the family's matriarch.

He had his whole world in his arms. Not to mention in the bar as well.

Both of them half-heartedly pulled back. Their arms remained wrapped around each other and their eyes locked. Ruby and azure swam in a canvas of mixed emotions. Their breaths gently brushed through their skin and their lips found a sense of attraction with each other.

Slowly their faces went closer until the tips of their noses touched. Cloud raised his hand to wipe a teardrop off Tifa's cheek. Then he brushed some of her hair back.

Tifa closed her eyes. Everything was perfect.

Then everything went to hell.

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A/N I extremely apologize for the excruciatingly long update. I've been having writer's block and schoolwork is getting more hectic.

Once again, I apologize. Still hope you'll enjoy. 


	12. Chapter 12

Alright, here goes chapter 12. Enjoy. There will be lots of action coming up in the next chapters so hold on.

Here's chapter 12, enjoy.

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Cloud opened his eyes to the burning fumes of smoke. When he barely regained his senses, he found himself on the ground. There was fire near him and the evening turned to sunrise. People ran from place to place in panic while some helped others up.

As he helped himself up, his hand felt something soft and warm. He realized that it was human skin and its familiar texture snapped him out of his shellshock and jump-started all his senses.

Cloud stood and picked up the frail body. He held her close to him and protected her as much as he can. Cloud took her away from the fire and smoke and sat on one of the benches, holding the lifeless body.

"Tifa!" Cloud cradled the woman's body. She remained still, only moving due to Cloud's movements. "Tif, it's me, Cloud. Answer me."

The blonde desperately waited for those ruby eyes to stare back at him. He didn't care how they would stare back at him or if it would stare back at him, as long as there was life in them. "Tifa wake up. Come on Tif, wake up..." Another futile attempt.

Cloud cuddled her closer and gently rocked her. "Somebody help her!" he just wished somebody was there. He could now begin to hear faint sirens getting louder and louder. The ex-SOLDIER felt helpless. He was mad at himself. He was mad at the world.

He just blurted out empty words and promises at her and now he is paying the price. He could feel teardrops streak down his pale cheeks. He did not sob nor cry; he just silently wept in agony and anger.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the faint outline of two familiar figures. One is bald while the other had red hair. He watched them for a while, rage boiling inside him. He had a feeling they had something to do with this. He wanted to kill them, and make them suffer. But he can't leave Tifa alone.

He could feel them watching him as well. For now, he could do nothing so he clutched his childhood friend tighter and rested his forehead on her forehead. No matter what, he won't leave her- not in this place, at least.

Cloud closed his eyes and wished that it was all a dream. But the pain he's starting to feel from his singed skin reminds him otherwise.

"Tifa I'm sorry... I'm so, so, sorry..." and time seemed to slip away.

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"Sir?" A gentle pat disturbed the hurt blonde. Cloud woke to the pungent smell of burnt objects and the suffocating fumes brushed his nose. Pain began to kick in.

And the woman in his arms was still unmoving. Cloud's temper rose at this yet he didn't do anything. He felt too weak to react or move or speak.

"Sir?"

Cloud looked up at the man who disturbed them. The man wore fatigues and a helmet with crosses painted around it. His uniform identifies him as a member of the national guard. He's a volunteer who looks like in his early twenties.

"Sir may we help? We have an ambulance waiting and we can bring her to the hospital for treatment." he spoke.

The blonde looked down at Tifa and absorbed the beautiful glow of her face. He gently brushed her hair and felt the brown strands soothe the palm of his hand.

Cloud nodded at the medic. The medic flashed a weak smile to brighten up the mood and ran to get some men and equipment from the waiting van. Cloud watched as they came back with a stretcher and a portable oxygen mask. The medic held two fingers on Tifa's neck. After a while, the medic smiled, "She'll be okay."

The blonde could almost jump for joy except that he was carrying a precious cargo. All he did was smile. "You hear that Tif?" he whispered, "you'll be alright. Just hold on for us, okay?"

"Sir if you don't mind, she still needs treatment that the hospital can give."

Cloud thanked the medic and laid the young brunette on the stretcher and accompanied the team to the ambulance. 'You're still beautiful no matter what,' He watched over Tifa until they closed the van doors and watched the vehicle as it sped away, sirens blazing. "Tifa just hold on. We'll come and visit you."

"Your family will..." and the blonde looked on until the red and blue lights disappeared from the horizon.

Cloud looked over at the destruction that transpired. A bomb ripped right through a building in the outpost. It didn't take long for him to realize that the damaged building was the barracks.

The bomb was intended to kill the soldiers and it seemed to work, judging by the number of stretchers being brought to the scene. He saw firefighters battle the last remaining fires in the building.

Amongst the activity of men running to and fro, Cloud could see the rose and the silver shine of the figurine he gave. With haste, he saved the two objects from being trampled on.

Well, there's nothing he can do now but go home and tend to the children.

As soon as he arrived, he sat on the sofa, thinking about Tifa. He had reassured himself for the nth time that she will be okay. Eventually, the pain and exhaustion took their toll on him.

When he opened his eyes, it was already morning.

The bar seemed different now that Tifa was gone. Cloud rose and trudged towards the door. He made sure the sign said "Closed" to those who were outside. Anyway, how would there be Tifa's Seventh Heaven if there was no Tifa?

Cloud heard footsteps from the stairs. It had a constant rhythmic beat to it, and a fast one too. For Cloud, here comes the hard part,

"Morning Cloud! Where's Tifa?" it was Denzel. The little boy, as always, had high spirits. Somehow it cheered him up.

Cloud shut his eyes and tried to brush off the negative thoughts in his mind. Tifa was so good at these things. He wished that she was here. He wished that this never would have happened, so that they may never be faced with something like this. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes and slowly faced the little boy.

Denzel's morning shine fell at how his role model looked. Something is telling him that this won't be a normal day.

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The boy never knew how right his intuition was. All throughout morning, the three were quiet. Breakfast did not go by smoothly because of last night's events and partly due to Cloud's inexperienced cooking skills.

Cloud however, was surprised. Marlene and Denzel took the matter much lightlier than he did. It is due to the fact that he promised them that Tifa will be alright. The two believed him in an instant and began making up reasons why their mom will be as Cloud had promised.

He could admit that the children were comforting him even if they did not know about it. One thing's for sure: He was feeling better and he knows that Tifa is feeling the same. Marlene and Denzel depended on it.

"Remember last time when Tifa cut her thumb with the kitchen knife? She just fixed it up without even complaining about the pain!" Marlene bragged with admiration.

"Yeah, and when Tifa was sick, she took care of herself and she was well right away." Denzel replied.

And well-hidden secrets were revealed to the blonde. "Wait a minute, when did she get sick?"

"You weren't home. You were out delivering something. She was sick for a day, but she got well right away."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah, and the time when there was a rumble in the bar, she handled those big drunk guys with ease! She didn't get hurt at all!"

"Wait, there was a rumble in the bar?" Cloud asked.

Denzel nodded.

Suddenly, Cloud had a feeling that it was a bad idea to be listening to their stories. Yet there was that everlasting curiosity about what has been happening to his family while he was away.

Another thing that kept the children on their toes was a visit to the hospital where Tifa was confined.

Cloud went upstairs to his room and grabbed his phone. He dialled Reeve's number and waited. Cloud partly opened his curtains to observe the view of the activity below. Despite the events last night, everything seemed normal to the people down there. It was as if nothing happened.

Cloud saw some of Tifa's regular customers approach the door below him. Many did not move any further than the sidewalk on their bar before they would turn and leave. The blonde studied the customers, particularly on what location they can read the "closed" sign and walk away.

Some however, were more persistent. He watched as those people would actually peep through the window to see if their favorite bartender was around. Cloud could not blame them; it was an unusual day anyway.

Until now, no one was answering the phone. Cloud was starting to get impatient. Part of him told him to hang up and call a bit later while another part told him to wait. The latter prevailed. His patience was then rewarded,

"Hello?"

"Reeve, it's me."

"Who?"

"Cloud."

"Oh Cloud! Good thing you called. If it is okay for you-"

"Tifa's in the hospital."

"What did you say?"

Cloud focused his eyes on the tire of a parked bike across the street. His eyes felt relaxed that way and he answered, "Last night we were out in the park..."

"Yes, I know." Cloud could hear an exhausted sigh from the other line. "Last night was the worst night of all. Bombs had gone off simultaneously from armories and barracks of almost all Avalanche bases around our zone of control."

"Who did it?"

"How's Tifa?"

"She'll be alright. Who did it?"

Reeve paused.

"Our bomb teams analyzed the bombs to be, like the others, of Shinra design. I already contacted them regarding this matter and they seem to have hung up on me. And so-"

"How are you sure that it is Shinra?"

"I am still not prepared to act upon these allegations without further proof. However something came up that seem to have raised the probability that it is, in fact, Shinra. A cavalryman from the fourth legion survived another supply raid. He and his unit were escorting a supply of ammunition to Mideel when they came under fire." Reeve paused and a deep sigh was heard, "He said that the attackers wore Shinra uniform and used Shinra equipment."

"Is that all?"

"There is one more thing: I lost contact with the men in Junon."

"Well, Shinra or not, we must be ready."

"We're already on red alert."

Cloud made a full round around his room before sitting on his chair.

"Cloud, you still there?"

"Yeah, still here."

"Tifa's gonna be alright?"

There was a long pause.

"Yeah.." Cloud replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "She'll be alright.", 'I hope...'

"I'll inform the others-"

"No."

Neither spoke for a while.

"No." Cloud repeated. He hoped that Reeve would understand. He did not feel like explaining things to him. "Let's make sure." Cloud spoke more softly.

"Alright. Anyway Cloud, I have a delivery job for you, if it'll be alright. There are some important documents from the sensor post that was bombed last night. Those documents may contain intelligence that resulted in the post's destruction."

"I'll think about it."

"Don't rush Cloud, take all the time you need. Take care."

Cloud smiled weakly. He knew Reeve does not know that he just smiled but he still did in reply. Instinct told him so. "Thanks."

But Reeve had already hung up.

Cloud returned the phone and glanced at the clock. It was already 10:54 am. They should be getting ready to visit Tifa by now. Cloud figured that he will buy lunch for them outside since breakfast was not a pleasant breakfast. First of all, the news about Tifa's predicament was sinking in. Secondly, everyone knows he can't cook anything better than instant noodles.

The blonde exited his room in search of the two children. First he walked towards the children's bedroom. As soon as he reached the door, it briskly opened and almost hit him in the face. If it weren't for his quick reflexes, he would have had a broken nose.

"Cloud! What time are we going to visit Tifa?" came a squeak.

It's amazing how little kids can be so powerful, especially if they are in a frenzy of energy. "Actually, in a few minutes. You better get dressed." but the child was already dressed.

"Okay. I'm dressed already but Denzel isn't. He's still looking for something to wear."

Cloud nodded, "Hurry up. We're still going to eat outside."

Marlene grinned and closed the door.

Before Cloud left, he heard mumbling from the room. He could make out something that sounded like, 'Cloud isn't cooking!' followed by some 'Yes!''s.

He just shook his head and walked away, 'Tifa, hope you really are fine. We all need you here.'

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In another part of the planet, the lazy early afternoon roared with life. Heavy boots and the clanging of equipment were almost as loud as the humming of engines. Overhead, three choppers circled the area.

Soldiers boarded the armored vehicles that were parked. These vehicles moved and arranged themselves in two files.

Men began clamping artillery behind some flatbed trucks. After they were done, they climbed at the back of the trucks. The trucks then positioned themselves behind the soldier-filled armored vehicles.

Behind the trucks, mobile artillery waited.

The three helicopters that flew overhead were joined by a fourth. After that, they each landed on separate trailers which were then pulled by trucks to the helipad.

Men brought out hoses and began refuelling these choppers. As the process continued, the pilots climbed out of their aircrafts and double-checked the armaments.

After they were done, the helicopter carriers went into position behind the mobile artillery.

Tanks began to roll into view and took their place at the front of the convoy.

As soldiers ran around, and the activity ensued, a soldier stood at the side, talking with a man in a tux. The soldier wore a different type of combat uniform signifying his rank and complete command of the convoy.

After the man in the tux gave him the thumbs-up, the officer called each commanding officer of the tank, infantry, artillery, and chopper groups. After they were huddled, he handed each man a piece of paper and gave last minute instructions.

When they were done, they returned to their respective groups while the officer boarded one of the APC's. Activity around the camp ceased and the engines roared through the whole encampment. The gate opened and the large convoy mobilized.

Peace was smiling.

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The door opened. Three figures stood by the doorway, taking in the foreign environment and the familiar smell of different chemicals. The first thing that caught their eyes was a lady wearing all white. She held a clipboard while reading a machine which rested beside a bed.

There was an occupant on the bed. The figure's outline was clearly seen as a sheet covered it. They could not make out the face or the upper half of the body however, due to the woman who blocked their view.

The lady scribbled on the clipboard before turning her attention to the three newcomers. She flashed a sweet smile at them. "Hi."

The tallest of the three smiled nervously in reply while the other two did nothing. None dared to move further into the room, but all were anxious to know more.

The blonde shut the door behind them so that they can say that they made progress in entering the room. They were finally able to see the patient that lay on the bed when the nurse moved to check on the dextrose. Cloud gave a comforting squeeze on each child's shoulder.

"Cloud? You said Tifa's fine." Denzel looked apprehensive.

Marlene was seconding the motion.

"Yes, she is." Cloud spoke unconvincingly, doubt forming in his thoughts at the sad sight.

"Ms. Lockheart is alright. All she needs is a little nap and she will be much better." the nurse spoke.

The steady beeps from the machine and the gentle rising and falling of the sheets covering the patient's chest confirmed the nurse's statement. There was relief.

The three approached the sleeping patient and watched her. Cloud had to warn Marlene and Denzel not to touch anything or else something wrong might happen. Both of them agreed without any resistance.

Tifa looked peaceful. The soot from her face was now gone, replaced by a small bandage. Her hair was now messy compared to last night yet it failed to remove the moonlit shine it still had the night before. Her lipstick and make-up can be barely seen.

"What time do you think will she wake up?"

"Ah, it really depends on her."

"But she's okay right?"

"Yes she is. Don't you worry about it."

Cloud looked up, distracted by the voices. Apparently, the children met a new friend: the nurse. They would ask her so many questions about the machines and all those weird contraptions connected to Tifa. The nurse answered their questions patiently and toured them around the machines and their different functions.

Slowly, the usual vigor and happiness returned. And now, the dangers of the two little masses of energy touching something grew higher. Fortunately, they kept their hands to themselves.

The blonde continued on laying one eye on Tifa and the other on the two children. Soon, he had both eyes on the sleeping brunette. For a while, he stayed, stroking her hair.

Now that Cloud was feeling much better, he had to tackle the job offered to him by Reeve. They will need the money to pay for the hospital bills. He spoke to the two kids about this job he needed to do and asked them to guard and watch over Tifa while he was gone.

The two were quite uneasy about being left alone but since they were assigned to watch over their mother, it wasn't much of a difficult thing to do. Anyway, Cloud will be back soon.

The blonde walked over beside Tifa and placed a silver figurine on the small desk beside her. He stroked Tifa's hair one last time and whispered, "I'll be back Tif- back to see your smile again."

Then he walked to the door and opened it. He looked back and said goobye to his family before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

A minute after he left, ruby eyes began to open, completely oblivious to what had just transpired.

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That afternoon, an Avalanche helicopter whizzed by the desert.

The occupants of the aircraft sat in silence, monitoring the area. Ever since a blast knocked out Avalanche's sensor relay, choppers were sent out to manually detect suspicious behavior.

For a while, none talked with each other. All but the pilot were intent on detecting something on their radar screen.

They flew around the vast expanse of desert without anything seen on sight. Just then, small dots began blinking on the screen. The crew dismissed it as other reconnaisance choppers on patrol. There were some assigned in that area anyway.

The small dots gradually increased in mass as more dots came in blinking. Avalanche did not send out large amounts of troops, and this was too large to be a civilian convoy. This aroused suspicion among the crew and they were compelled to investigate.

As they approached the blinking dots, they saw black smoke over the other side of a hill they were headed to. The pilot ushered the chopper towards the smoke and what they saw immediately placed them on red alert.

The co-pilot took the transmitter and spoke to base, "Air recon 6 to HQ, do you copy?"

The reply came in garbled, "HQ to Air recon 6, we copy. What's your status?"

"Air recon 4 is down. I repeat, Air recon 4 is down. We're passing over the wreckage now and we're unsure of survivors."

"Copy that, we have a bird on the ground. Any ideas why?"

"We're detecting a large mass on our radar. We intend to investigate after verifying if there are survivors."

"Alright, proceed."

The chopper safely landed beside the crash site. Three men jumped out and ran towards the fallen helicopter. They made a pass around the wreckage hoping to find any of their comrades. The only person they found was the dead pilot sprawled on the sand. His face was bloody, his upper body went through the windshield outside the chopper while his lower body burned in the wreckage.

The co-pilot looked on as the three crewmen searched. One of the men caught his eye. The man waved his hand and briefly shook his head. Vocal communication is futile due to the sounds of the chopper blades and the fire on the wreckage. The co-pilot replied with a nod and ushered the men to enter. "Air recon 6 to HQ, we have confirmation that none of them made it. We are now en route to investigate the large anomally in our radar."

As soon as the three crewmen climbed aboard, one shouted, "Aren't we gonna bury them?"

"There's no time! We need to go now!" and with that, the engines roared even louder and the aircraft gained altitude.

The pilot flew the aircraft with much haste, using the radar as their guide. "We're getting closer!"

The crew members watched as the large mass in their radar blipped closer and closer to the center of the screen.

Before the mass intersected with the center, they stopped their advance. Instead of accelerating towards the target, they increased their altitude to maintain distance.

All they could see was a large cloud of dust. The dust was so large that it can only be greated by a huge object or a multitude of smaller objects. In this vantage point they could not decide which of the two so it was agreed that they had to get closer.

What they saw was something of great shock and fear. It wasn't possibly plausible. The co-pilot scrambled for the transmitter, "Air recon 6 to HQ! We have one whole regiment on the move! It's not Avalanche! I repeat! It's not Avalanche! One whole regiment is headed towards Midgar!"

"HQ to Air recon 6! Say that again?"

"There is one whole regiment headed towards Midgar! It is not Avalanche! I see tanks, some armored vehicles, and artillery!"

"Do you have count of the units?"

"Negative HQ, the dust completely masks their numbers. The vehicles are black and there are a lot of them, that's all I can tell you."

Their conversation was interrupted by a panicked beeping sound on the panel. "We've been spotted and we're locked!" the pilot exclaimed.

Directly in front of them, they could see a fast moving object hurtling towards them. With quick reflexes and superior coordination, the pilot banked right and spun the chopper ninety degrees to the same direction.

This gave the left door gunner complete view of the projectile. In a desperate attempt to save their lives, the gunner fired indefinitely at their killer.

Tracers can be seen passing through the sides of the missile. Fortunately, he scored a hit and the missile detonated prematurely in mid-air. The pilot sped off to avoid further conflict.

Their daring escape was not yet over as they were targetted for another missile strike.

The second projectile was gaining fast on them and there was no way a chopper can outrun it. In fear for their lives, one of the crew members held out a flare gun and loaded it. This time, the pilot began doing minor aerial maneuvers to shake the missile.

Slowly, the missile neared them. It flew way too fast for the slower aircraft. The crew member leaned out and aimed the flare gun at the missile and fired without hesitation. He then began loading another flare round. Hopefully the heat would divert the missile.

Hopefully...

It looks like hope has fled them as the missile seemed to have ignored it. So the man fired another round and hoped. This time, hope always has a way of coming back and the missile took the bait.

The combined heat of two flare rounds was enough to draw its attention. The projectile hit one of the rounds just as it was about to run out. The impact to a lighter and smaller object was not strong enough to detonate the missile but it was strong enough to damage its heat sensor.

Eventually the missile ran out of fuel and it dropped to the ground in a loud explosion. The crew of Air recon 6 flew in relative safely, adrenaline pumping through their veins and trembling from those close encounters.

The men recalled their wild experience and laughed all the way back to their base.

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A/N

Alright, chap. 13 will come out soon. Hope you enjoyed!

Please R and R! 


	13. Chapter 13

Here's chapter 13. Please enjoy.:-)

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Eyes opened slowly. A blurry vision of whiteness came into view. This encompassing white shroud grew brighter and brighter as the eyes fought to ward off the heaviness.

They lost the battle and the eyelids shut however, the consciousness remained present. Soon enough, the eyes struggled once again and won. There were some traces of heaviness in them but they were easily ignored.

A continous beeping sound greeted the ear as its nerves began to function. Soon, the ear adapted to its continuous pestering.

Then the hands began complaining about an unfamiliar weight on them. In response, they were given the energy of movement. They found themselves resisted by a strange apparatus that seemed to have penetrated their skin.

The head turned to one side. A green tag on the wrist of one hand caught the eyes' attention. On the tag, a barely legible handwriting printed these characters in it: "Patient no. 668143-R"

Two figures staring out a window caught their attention.

The mouth soon had its taste of conscious movement. "Marlene? Denzel?"

The two figures turned and made eye contact. In unison, they exclaimed, "Tifa!" followed by loud thumping and a torrent of hugs.

The brunette couldn't help but smile as the two creatures snuggled in her arms. "Hey you two, how have you been?"

"We're alright, now that you're awake!" replied the little boy.

Marlene hopped on the bed and spoke, "Guess what?"

"What?"

"Papa came and visited us."

"Oh really? Barret came?"

"Mm-hmm."

"He went out though," Denzel spoke. "He said he'll be back in a short while."

"Where's Cloud?"

"He left to take a job for Reeve." the boy answered.

"But he appointed us as your personal bodyguards while he was away!" Marlene added, "So, it's our turn to protect you." then she mimicked one of those punches she saw Tifa do to a drunk guy trying to hit on her.

Tifa chuckled in amusement despite the incorrect form, "Yes, I'm sure you will."

"Oh, we almost forgot, Vincent's here." the little girl pointed at a red-cloaked man slumbering on the corner of the room. His cloak was intended to wrap around him but it now began to slide off his body, partly exposing his golden claw. He continued to sleep in that little corner.

"He brought these," Denzel went over to the desk and retrieved seven get well soon letters and handed them to Tifa.

She opened one with a picture of the tropics in front and read it. She knew by then that the letter came from Yuffie.

"Anyway, what happened to me?"

Neither of the two answered her.

Tifa understood, "It's alright, you don't need to." She continued browsing through the numerous get well soon cards. A small card caught her attention, one which was made out of paper. She opened it and a stick figure drawing of four people greeted her. There were three children in the drawing and one adult woman with long hair.

The woman held a wine glass and a bottle of wine. She stood beside two of the three children. The two children held each others' hands. One of them was male with somewhat unruly hair, while the other was female and had a red ribbon on her head.

The third child was male and rode a stick figure-like motorcycle. He had spiky blonde hair on his head. Tifa chuckled at the drawing of this familiar-looking guy. What made him look like a child was the way he was proportioned while on the motorcycle.

Behind them, a large house with the sign, "Seventh Heaven" stood. The house was oddly a little bigger than the drawing of the woman with the wine glass and the wine bottle.

Below the drawing, words were scribbled, "Get well soon and come home with us. We love you. by: Marlene and Denzel." Tifa can't blame them for the incorrect proportioning of Cloud and the house but the picture touched her heart. She hugged the two kids watching her.

"I love you guys too." Tifa spoke.

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At the other side of town, a figure slammed a door open. This man ran upstairs to the different rooms of this empty home. He entered the first room he could enter: His room.

The man grabbed a large travel bag and started stuffing clothes in it. Then he began stuffing the essentials he might need as soon as the ordeal starts. In his mind, one thing remained: the survival of his family.

After he was done, he carried the travel bag outside the room. He then entered the next room. This room had a more childish feel to it. This was proven true due to the two occupants staying in this room.

The man grabbed for another travel bag and began stuffing it with clothing. Luckily the clothes were small in size and there weren't much since the occupants were being trained not to be spoiled. He was surprised when he found out that all their clothes fit inside the bag. Now there was enough room to add any miscellaneous objects they might need or want.

Since he had not enough time to think about it, he placed the most important and favorite things of the room occupants. He then closed the bag and carried it outside.

The man took a moment to peek outside the window. Army trucks passed through the main roads, carrying fully equipped troops. Some soldiers began shouting out to the civilians to evacuate. Time was much too short.

He went to the last room in the house. Violating any moral values, he entered the room. This room had a very familiar feminine feel to it. The man hesitated for a moment before continuing his resolve. He opened the different closets and drawers and produced another travel bag from one of them. On the closet, he picked out the most decent clothes he can find and jammed them all in the bag.

He browsed the room and threw all that he think are essential in the bag. He found it extremely difficult to put the right stuff in since he could not tell between what this woman really likes and really needs. The easiest thing he did was put what he thinks she needs and zipped the bag shut.

He browsed around the small home and grabbed whatever they might need. Packs of food, water, toothbrushes, toothpastes, towels, PHS, etc.

The man carried the bags outside and loaded them at the back of his bike. As he placed them neatly in the compartment, more and more army trucks passed. The civilians however, were completely oblivious to what's happening around them and merely watched the parade of troops.

The man however, knew all too well what is going on. He had seen it with his own two eyes while on his job.

As soon as he mounted his bike, a deafening alarm rang throughout the city. He started the engine and sped towards the hospital.

As he rode, he could see people running to their homes. Loud speakers announced a startling statement in the city, "All citizens of Edge. You are requested to calmly take whatever essential needs you have and evacuate the city. This is not a drill. I repeat, all are requested to remain calm and evacuate the city carrying all your essential needs. Please be calm, the national guards are here to assist you."

As soon as he reached the hospital, he jumped off the bike, letting it fall on its side and ran towards the lobby. There was an increase in activity of field medics in the hospital and he could see through a glass door, hundreds of ambulances waiting.

Patients were brought to these ambulances and accompanied by nurses and staff, the ambulances sped off one by one. Some friends and family even accompanied these ambulances.

"All civilians are requested to evacuate the city as soon as possible. Relief centers are being set up in Kalm and await your arrival." the loud speakers announced again.

As he ran towards the elevator, he almost bumped into a nurse. There was no time for them to apologize to each other and they continued running towards their destinations.

The man entered the elevator and immediately pressed the button with the number 3 on it. Though it was a short ride, the sloth-like movement of the elevator and the slow opening and closing of the doors irritated him. What irritated him more was when the elevator stopped on the second floor to allow passengers to enter it.

Most of the people around him in the cramped vehicle were nurses and medical technicians carrying mobile beds. They were going to evacuate patients on the upper levels.

Finally, the door opened at the third floor. The man sprinted towards room 326, avoiding hits from those who were running around as well. Soon enough, he arrived at room 326. Without knocking, he opened the door.

Then, he stopped.

On the bed, three people lay. All three of them were sleeping soundly.

"What the 'ell is goin' on?" someone growled. The sounds of heavy feet began to thud towards him.

The man looked at the fourth person in the room, "Barret!"

"'ey there spike! Good 'ta see 'ya!"

"Listen Barret, there's no time for pleasantries and whatnots." Cloud panted. "Shinra has somehow gained its might. One whole regiment is heading this way!"

"What did ye' jus' say!"

"Shinra's at it again, much stronger than before. We need to evacuate the city; They're going to take it!"

"Dammit! So, Shinra's at it again eh?"

"Yeah. We need to leave... Now."

As if in a battle, Cloud had the large man's full cooperation. "Hold on, lemme call someone. We can't jus' get Tifa out like this." with that, Barret left the room.

Cloud walked towards the three sleeping people. He could see Denzel and Marlene had snuggled on either side of Tifa. He was a bit apprehensive of this action since Marlene's hand was dangerously near the dextrose wire on Tifa's hand.

But, he couldn't blame them- They love each other.

Cloud saw the figurine he left behind on Tifa's tummy. Apparently, it fell off her hand during the sleep. Well at least, he now knows that Tifa had woken up earlier. Cloud picked up the figurine.

As much as he hated to ruin the moment, he had to save them. He laid a hand on Denzel's shoulder and gently shook him, "Wake up Denzel."

The little boy stirred and opened his eyes. "Wha- oh, you're back!"

"There's no time. Wake up Tifa and Marlene. We need to go." Cloud took the handful of get well soon cards and placed it in his pocket. Then he began opening the different drawers and closets to inspect anything that could be left behind.

"Cloud, what's wrong?" the boy asked.

The blonde did not answer. He opened one closet and saw the clothes Tifa wore during their date. Since it was pretty decent clothing and it may be used, he pulled them off the hangers. He brushed off some of the dirt before putting them in a plastic bag. He didn't even bother to fold them.

By now, the two children were awake. Cloud stopped for a moment and watched as the commotion woke Tifa up. The blonde was overjoyed to see her move. The panic completely escaped him and his worries suddenly disappeared as soon as the woman smiled at him.

But soon, the smile faded and turned to concern, "What's wrong? Tifa asked,"

"Shinra's back." was all he said. "We're leaving towards Kalm."

Tifa's face turned from concern to shock.

"A'ryt," a voice growled, "We've got someone to bring her."

Cloud nodded.

A male nurse with a mobile hospital bed entered. Cloud handed the plastic bag to Denzel and went over beside the bed. Together, he and Barret lifted the sick woman from her bed and transfered her to the mobile bed. The nurse switched off and disconnected the heart monitor and transfered the dextrose to the mobile bed.

Cloud accompanied Tifa and the nurse towards the elevator while Barret and the two quiet children trailed closely behind. As they rode the elevator, Cloud took the moment to speak to Barret, "Did you bring a car?"

"Yeah, a small van."

"I'm going to put our bags in your van. They contain our clothes and all other essential needs. Denzel has a grandfather living in Kalm. Bring them there."

"How 'bout ya?" Barret asked.

The elevator door suddenly opened, exposing them to the confusion on the lobby. Barret gave Cloud the keys to his van. The blonde ran outside to his bike to transfer the travel bags.

Barret and the two kids accompanied Tifa to an ambulance waiting outside. The number of these vehicles reduced drastically but they were fortunate enough to receive one.

As the medical personnel began preparing the ambulance to load the mobile bed, Cloud arrived.

"Thanks," he spoke, and handed over the keys to Barret.

The blonde knelt beside Tifa, "Hey Tif,"

"Hey, she spoke softly. I'm alright now, Cloud. Don't worry."

The blonde forced a smile. "You sure?"

Tifa chuckled and flashed him a sweet smile.

"I've been waiting for that."

"And I'm still waiting for yours."

"As long as you'll take care of yourself and be okay." then, he smiled.

The smile faded from the young woman's face, "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I say. You guys be careful now, okay?"

Tifa's heart began to pump faster in anxiety and worry, "Cloud, you're coming with us right?"

Cloud leaned closer and held out a small object. He placed it in the woman's hand and closed it. "I am not going to break this. Keep it for me." before he stood, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Barret, take care of them for me. I'll help hold Shinra off for as long as I can. Stay with them. They'll need you."

The big man nodded.

Marlene and Denzel gave Cloud a hug which the blonde responded to with a hug of his own and gentle pats on their heads. There were tears on Marlene's eyes while Denzel remained strong. The two did not protest; it was probably due to the shock of what was happening around them right now.

Cloud also heard no protests from Tifa. When he looked at her again, he saw her eyes were full of hurt and worry.

She was then loaded into the ambulance. After she was in the vehicle, Tifa met his gaze. "Don't worry, my clothes are in Barret's van." he said to her.

The young girl's lips twitched upwards before the doors closed.

"Promise us you'll come back okay?" a boy's voice spoke.

Cloud faced Denzel and nodded. "Tell you what," he spoke, "Since you two had done a great job of watching over Tifa, why don't you two guard and watch over my clothes so that when I come back, I'll have something to wear. Deal?"

Both kids looked up at him. Denzel smirked while Marlene tried to prevent her tears from falling but to no avail. "Yeah, you can count on us Cloud."

"Jus' make sure those clothes will still have someone to use 'em, a'ryt?" Barret interrupted. He held both kids and prepared to bring them to his van.

Cloud nodded. "Oh, one more thing," he pulled out the cards from his pocket and handed them, "These are Tifa's."

Barret took them and placed them in his pocket. "'Ya take care of yourself now, Cloud." he said, before he and the kids turned and walked to the front of the ambulance. The big man spoke to the ambulance driver, "Go ahead, we'll meet 'ya outside." before jogging towards the van.

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In the ambulance, Tifa opened her hand. Silver gleamed by the light in the ambulance. The figure of an armored man on an armored chocobo stood proudly.

The young woman wrapped her hand around the figurine and held it to her heart. Then, tears began to fall.

Sirens blazed as the vehicle began to move. Behind them, a black van followed closely.

The masses of cars intensified and smooth traffic flow bacame scarce. Even the highways were jam-packed with vehicles of all sorts of shapes and sizes.

They had a feeling that this is going to be a pretty long trip.

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Cloud arrived in the town square of Edge. There he saw an officer, possibly a Colonel, directing orders on a map to his lower ranking officers. As this process moved on Cloud shut the engine off his bike and pulled out his sword from its holder. He strapped it onto his back and approached the officers.

Being a senior member of Avalanche, the men respected him as such. The colonel saluted him while he returned the gesture. The other officers did likewise.

"What do we have?" Cloud asked.

"What we have here is an unexpected turn of plans. We've had reconnaisance this morning regarding the assault force and based on this, we had plotted that their course is heading towards Midgar. In response, we were able to mobilize our defense forces to defend Midgar. It was just this early afternoon when the Shinra army had suddenly redirected its assault to Edge."

"They are trying to draw out the heavy garrison in Midgar." Cloud analyzed. "Since Avalanche was given ample time to prepare for the attack, by now, our forces heavily garrison the city. An attack on Edge will commission some of the men in Midgar to defend it."

"Divide and conquer... Sadly, we are too late. Our forces are already deployed around the city."

"That's okay. Edge is an important city for Avalanche." Cloud commented. "Anyway, do you have a plan?"

"It's nothing much. The only way to the city," the colonel lectured, "is through this gap between building 10741 and 9700" he pointed different parts of the map. "We had placed trenches and metal barricades at the front of the gap, overlooking the plains. From there, we will whither them down."

THe colonel pointed at different encircled points on the map. "Here are our regrouping areas. Once it is clear that we can not hold the gap, we will organize a retreat to these locations, regroup, then position on various choke points here, here, and here. In these points, we will continue our assault."

"Can we contact Midgar and see if it can deploy covering troops around. If we can not hold Edge, we must retreat as soon as possible to Midgar. There, we restock and resupply before defending ourselves there."

"I'll see what I can do."

Cloud looked around him. There were no more civilians around; only soldiers and equipment. The blonde looked at the map and studied the layout of Avalanche's defenses of the city. He memorized the placement of the various machine gun teams to fall back to. "What are our assets?"

"Well, we have six hundred men. Of these, we have fifty mortarmen, thirty field medics, and twenty machine gun teams. The rest are regulars. We only have six tanks, three twenty millimeter light tanks and three AA tanks."

"The vehicles we have are not enough to hold of the attack."

"But still, we have to make do with what we have."

"Why not make more traps?"

"Exactly what kind of traps?"

"Mine the area, set up roadblocks and ambush them."

"Mines are out of the question; we have no supply of them. But we may consider other traps." the colonel smiled.

There were soldiers walking to their positions. Sandbags have been set up and barbed wires are being unloaded. In an hour, everyone was ready. Cloud hitched a ride on one of the trucks to the frontline- the bulk of the defenses.

When he arrived, an officer handed him an extra rifle and six clips. He jumped down the trench, and hunkered down beside the nervous soldiers. They waited and trembled.

Sandbags covered the front of the twenty millimeter-equipped light tanks to protect them from armor piercing rounds. Two machine gun teams set up their machine guns on the side of the trench. The trench in itself was ingenious. It was built in such a way that tanks would drop in and have a difficult time getting out.

Cloud laid a hand on the trembling soldier beside him. He was so young, probably in his late teens and it was his first time, an unexpected time, in a fight for their lives. "We'll be okay."

The soldier said nothing. He glanced at Cloud for a short while before returning his gaze on the expanse of land in front of him. The boy pushed his helmet even lower down his head, but his trembling and fear had somewhat lessened.

The defenses are ready, the men are prepared, and the enemy approaches.

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There you go. Please R and R! 


	14. Chapter 14

I'd like to thank all those who read my story and those who reviewed it. Thanks.  
Here's chapter 14. Enjoy.

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It was then that the defenders of Edge waited. Most were in fear but all were determined. There was a deafening silence surrounding the men. Occassionally, there were whispers here and there, or the sound of clothes brushing against the soil.

There were also the sounds of equipment being tinkered with, mostly in order to verify their optimum efficiency. Some of the men began opening their portable water containers and taking in small sips of water.

Despite the activity, none took their hands off their weapons. During the wait, Cloud took the moment to study his own rifle. Although he preferred using his sword, a bit of knowledge about using these long-ranged weapons will definitely help. It's been a long time since he held one of these himself. The last time he held one was when he worked in Shinra. He had been using the rifle given to him before, during certain conflicts against Avalanche forces. Since then, his marksmanship became above average. Right now, he's not sure if he still possessed this skill.

The afternoon was about to end yet nothing came. They estimated that they've been there for almost two hours- or so they think.

Cloud turned his back and rested it on the side of the trench. He laid the rifle on his tummy and rubbed his hands together to remove the sweat in his palms. He could see the young soldier beside him did not shift his position. He still laid on the side of the trench, pointing his rifle at the same direction. The boy continued on trembling.

"See them?" Cloud asked.

The boy shook his head, "Nothing." his voice was a bit shaky.

Men trudged down the long trench, their heads down in case the enemy was present and had a clear shot at them. They moved from different areas of the trench, repositioning themselves to find the best defensive positions. One man laid next to Cloud.

The blonde then noticed one man get up and walk away from the trench and a bit further into the plains were Shinra's army was supposed to come from. Cloud turned in curiosity and watched as the daring soldier walk a few meters in front of them. Cloud then knew why:

At the feet of the soldier was a patch of beautiful flowers. They were small yet their pinkish-white color attracted him. He suddenly had the urge to get up and pick some for Tifa and Marlene. But something told him he shouldn't.

But hey, it was only around four meters away. If he could get in there quick and pick some, it wouldn't be much of a problem. Anyway, the soldier was still there, getting some.

"Hey, can you pick one for me?" one of the men in the trench shouted.

"Alright, how many?" the soldier replied.

"Two's fine. Thanks dude."

Maybe it would be better if Cloud asked the man to get some for him as well. Then again, the man might not pick a nice one for him. So the blonde hoisted himself up and prepared to walk to the flower patch.

"Better hurry back dude!" another voice warned.

Cloud then heard a whizzing sound. It sounded as if something was falling from the sky.

Then, the flower patch blew into bits. The soldier was tossed back a few inches before dropping back down. In instinct, Cloud dropped back down to the trench. Some of the soil went in his hair and got stuck.

Then, another explosion occured right in front of the trench. Then another went off behind them. Then another, then another. All the men pressed themselves to the side of the trench as the barrage of explosions continued.

Cloud barely lifted his head to peek. Hopefully, he can get a glimpse of the Shinra army as it advanced. But the blonde saw nothing except for the dead soldier- 'Wait a minute.'

The supposedly 'dead' soldier stirred on the ground. In between explosions, the blonde could hear his shocked moan. "He's alive!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Sir?"

"The man's still alive! I'm going to get him!" the blonde shouted as he was sprayed with soil from another explosion.

The other men looked up and tried as hard as they could to provide cover for the blonde.

Shells greeted him as they dropped all around. Cloud ran all the way towards the fallen man. He grabbed the the fatigues of the soldier and dragged him back. He was luckily able to dodge one explosion which occured near him.

Another shell dropped near the groaning soldier but he was lucky since it was a dud. As soon as Cloud neared the trench, he dropped the man in and dove in the trench.

Immediately afterwards, the others brought their heads down to shield themselves from shrapnel.

"We need a medic here!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"I'm here!" another replied. He wore a similar uniform to the one who helped Tifa the night before. The medic ran, head ducked towards the group. He tripped as the shockwave of another explosion hit him. The man got up and resumed his approach.

The medic settled down beside the group and began checking the shocked man. It was a miracle he survived.

One of the shells entered the trench and landed beside a group of soldiers. They were not as lucky as the man Cloud saved.

The continuous shelling pinned them down to the lowest depths of the trench.

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The usually smooth-flowing highway now looked like a congested parking lot. The multitude of cars of various shapes and sizes met each other in this large road, all trying to escape the chaos and the fear of death.

But with traffic as bad as this, chaos and death will definitely catch up to them.

The ambulance shut its sirens since it may begin to annoy and provoke the other panicked motorists.

The patient in the ambulance stared at the silver figurine in her hand. She traced each and every line in the figure more than twice.

This figurine was the only pillar of hope she had. This figurine never ceased to remind her that 'he' would come back safe and sound. The woman hoped so.

Unless...

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Cloud covered his head with his hands as another shell exploded near him. Amidst the relentless bombardment, he could hear the familiar sounds of helicopter blades above him. Four choppers hovered the trench.

He could see the Shinra logo on the sides of the four choppers.

But due to the relentless bombardment, they were pinned down so much that they can do almost nothing to stop them. The choppers did not bother to slaughter the men and entered the city.

Cloud realized that the bombardment was actually a means of cover to slip the four attack choppers in the city. These choppers will pound through the various defensive positions in the city to lessen or eliminate the strain on the ground assault forces.

This was too late for them. Anyway, with their current position, they can do nothing to stop them even if they knew. The only viable option is to hurry.

Finally, the shelling stopped and the men in the trench were given room to breathe. They resumed their old positions, aiming their rifles at the open plain.

Only this time, the open plain sprang to life as a large dust cloud approached them with speed. In the middle of the cloud, black objects can be seen, their engines roared through the still air as hundreds of horsepower pushed the machines forward.

Cloud asked for the binoculars of one of the lieutenants with them.

The lieutenant unhooked it from his belt and handed it to Cloud. The blonde began using it.

"They have more than ten tanks and APC's. Can't count them clearly. But one thing's for sure,"

"What's that?"

"We're definitely outgunned."

"We'll survive if we play our cards right."

"If we have any more cards left, that is..."

Their conversation was interrupted when bullets whizzed by. Again, they ducked for cover. The loud gunfire from the Shinra tanks pinned them yet again but this time however, they still stood a chance.

"Get some anti-tank support down there and light them!" the lieutenant ordered.

Three men holstered their rifles and pulled their portable missile launchers out. One of the men exclaimed, "We need to draw their fire away, we're too pinned to move!"

Cloud partly stood and crossed over the lieutenant and the three missile-armed infantry men. "When our right flank fires, you take your shots, understood?"

"Yes sir!"

The ex-SOLDIER resumed his walk, crossing over the soldiers laying down in wait. When he was a considerable distance away, he grabbed the attention of the men around him, "You guys, listen!"

They partly turned their heads to hear him better.

"We have anti-tank support waiting to light those tanks up. When I count to three, suppress them. We need to draw the tanks' attention away to give the tank busters a good firing position."

"Better than doing nothing," the six men whom Cloud enlisted prepared themselves.

"On three!" Cloud readied them, "One, two, three!"

The seven of them knelt, exposing their upper bodies and fired at the tanks. As planned, some of the tanks' turrets turned in their direction.

Three smoke trails headed towards the tanks. Each missile hit their marks and the lumbering machines were knocked out. Though the tanks did not visibly show much damage, their internal workings were completely disabled. The missiles were designed to penetrate their tough armor and hopefully kill the crew.

"Everybody down!" Cloud ordered as another wave of missiles hurdled towards the other tanks. This time, only one was knocked out while the other two were unaffected.

The blonde figured that they managed to dent at least one fourth of the tank force. The remaining tanks began rolling towards them.

The two Avalanche light tanks began dislodging themselves from the sandbags and retreating further in the city. Their 20mm cannons are completely worthless against tanks. And against Shinra's heavy tanks, a direct hit will completely obliterate the light tanks.

The tanks came ever nearer to their position; a move which Cloud and the others wanted the enemy to do. As soon as the heavy vehicles were close enough, the soldiers scrambled in the trench, making way for the tanks.

The lead tank driver wrongly calculated the size of the trench. His tank dropped in the trench, the front end lodged in the other side of the trench. Due to the speed of the tank, the rear end of the vehicle lifted and it toppled over, breaking its cannon before landing upside down on the side of the trench.

The other tanks met the same fate. Though they did not topple over like the lead tank did, they were stuck in the trench. The other tanks behind them collided with them, further wedging them in.

The Avalanche soldiers took the opportunity. Some of the men climbed the incapacitated tanks and dropped grenades down the hatches to kill the crews inside. The others just took their rifles and gunned down the helpless crewmen inside the tank.

The other tanks that were left behind fired their cannons at the incapacitated tanks as the Avalanche soldiers swarmed on the turret to get to the hatches. The resulting explosions killed some of the soldiers.

The lieutenant ordered the men back, "Alright! We've done what we can here! Reposition at location two!"

The remaining soldiers jogged back in an orderly retreat to their second position. This position is another smaller trench just at the other end of the gap which lay between the two buildings.

Here the defenders will set up another position. Now that the tanks are incapacitated, their massive bodies will block the line of fire of the tanks behind them from this new position.

And since the previous trench proved to be impassable to the vehicles, the Shinra soldiers will be forced to disembark from their APC's and attack by foot. They will then be gunned down by the defending Avalanche infantry.

Cloud found himself running alongside other retreating soldiers. Most of the men had already made it to the other trench and are now covering their retreating comrades. He could see the young soldier settled down in the trench.

He looked over his shoulder to see if the enemy infantry have shown. The only infantry he saw was a medic carrying the still-shocked soldier, staggering towards the trench.

The blonde stopped for a while and helped the heavily-laden medical personnel reach the temporary safety of the trench.

Shortly after they settled down, there were loud gunfire from the machine-gun teams in the trench. Automatic rifle shots followed immediately afterwards. Cloud turned and saw black-clad figures in masks emerging from the sides of the incapacitated vehicles.

Tracers from the machine-guns told them whenever the bullets hit their marks. The attacking soldiers dropped beside the tanks. Some even fell in the previous trench.

Others who climbed out of the trench were shot back inside.

Some were lucky to escape the hail of machine gun fire and took cover behind the two buildings on either side of the gap. They fired back at the defending infantrymen.

The pile of bodies grew as more Shinra soldiers were slaughtered.

As Cloud ducked to reload, he noticed the soldier beside him drop his head down and let go of his rifle. He never picked it up again.

"Keep up the fire," the lieutenant urged, "we're holding them back like a dam!"

But just when things were looking good, the Shinra army gained a tremendous advantage as some of their engineers managed to create makeshift bridges to allow the APC's through the trench.

Soon, the gap began to fill with six APC's. The pinned Shinra soldiers in the buildings stuck close behind the APC's to cover them as they advanced.

One APC met a missile as one of the anti-tank support infantrymen fired one at it. Thirty less soldiers to worry about.

Another lowered its front gate to allow the infantry out. The men were unlucky however, as a missile found its way right inside the cargo bay and destroyed the transport. The men who made it outside were either gunned down or burned by the explosion.

The passengers of another transport were unlucky as well, as bullets met them when the gate lowered.

Avalanche began taking its casualties in this leg of the battle as men were shot in the trench.

One of the machine-gun teams trained their gun on the gate of another approaching APC. Like the others, they will shoot down all the infantrymen inside before they have a chance to evacuate the transport.

As soon as the gate opened, their desired effect of bullet-hitting-flesh was unfulfilled. Instead, they received a bullet-hitting-metal reply. Inside the APC, there was a large metal wall that shielded the soldiers. Soon, this metal wall moved and separated into smaller metal walls.

"Watch out," Cloud warned, "They brought out the heavy troopers!"

Soon, the firefight intensified and Avalanche casualties drastically rose. The smell of gunpowder became as normal as the smell of fresh air and the screams and gunfires became as normal as the sounds of a busy street.

The heavy troopers took the bulk of Avalanche's defense as their metal shields were shot at.

Since these shields were impregnable from the defenders' small arms fire, they replied with grenades. A lucky grenade went over the troopers' shields and detonated behind them. The shields flew a few meters before dropping, and exposed the undefended infantrymen taking cover behind the troopers.

The bullets took this opportunity and began clawing through their flesh.

When the heavy troopers and the infantrymen swarmed the trench, Cloud took out his sword and prepared for melee battle. The Avalanche soldiers took out their short stabbing swords and prepared as well.

The lieutenant held strong as Shinra stormed their position. He would have to get ready to give the signal to retreat to their third position. But before he could say the order, bullets whizzed at him and found their marks.

Cloud pointed his sword forward and waited for an unlucky soldier to run into it. Soon enough, one poor fool did. The blonde pulled it out and slashed the two Shinra troopers beside him.

During this movement, his eyes catch a glimpse of the bloody lieutenant sprawled on the side of the trench. Cloud turned and drove his sword into another Shinra trooper. He realized that he was a meter back from his original position, nearing the side of the trench.

Then, the heavy troopers dropped down in the trench and started hacking away at the helpless defenders. Their favorite tactic was to smash their shield into the defending soldiers, then stabbing them in their side.

Around Cloud, he could see more Shinra soldiers than Avalanche soldiers. Most of the Avalanche soldiers were already on the ground. It was clear that they could not hold this position and so the blonde sounded the retreat towards the choke points.

The retreat came even bloodier than the defense. Men were shot from behind as they ran. Cloud heard a bullet whiz by his ear and he took another route through the network of alleys. Some lucky soldiers followed him and together, they were able to form a small band.  
The blonde was partly surprised to see the shocked soldier and the young soldier in his group. Somehow, they survived.

The group of six trudged through the alley they were in, relying on their sense of direction and the various landmarks to navigate. The landmarks are unreliable at times, as demonstrated by a towering watertank that served as a cushion for a burning Shinra chopper.

When they approached a corner, one of the men peeked around it.

"What do you see?" a man, around his early thirties, inquired. He had a gash across his right hand which, by the looks of it, can hamper the effective use of his rifle. Fortunately though, Cloud realized, the man was left handed.

The rest looked on at the other man, anxious for a reply. Some indistinct yells and an intense gun battle could be heard from the corner.

Finally, in light of this, the man said, "Let's not go there, we got a truckload of 'em." The others agreed without a word.

On they moved along the narrow alley, Cloud and the lefty covering the rear, while two others, one was another lieutenant who got separated with his troop when Shinra overran their position and the other was a sergeant whose only remaining man in his team was the lefty, led the way.

The young soldier and the guy who had recovered from the shock covered their left and right flanks respectively as well as above them.

As they turned right through a clear alley, Cloud passed by what used to be a day care center. Just yesterday morning, he could still see the toddlers playing there, a symbol of hope for their fledgling world.

Now it was nothing more than a pile of their unrebuildable future.

The group was approaching the end of the alley. Every step they took brought them closer to the unknown. The gunfire grew louder and louder with each passing moment, causing the unnerved lieutenant to calm himself. Each time their foot trampled on the rough cement, time slowed. Each thud taking a longer time to be heard than the ones that preceded it. The lieutenant tightened his hold on the rifle as his eyes caught glimpses of tracer bullets passing from the left end of the alley to the right.

Gunfire grew even louder... Much too loud for him, in fact. The next thing he knew, he was slumped on the ground, feeling a tremendous amount of weakness surging through his body.

"Lieutenant's hit!"

"They're behind us, take cover!"

The downed officer could hear bullets hit the ground next to him, fragments of cement splintered the air. Bullets hailed the peaceful alley, compensated by loud bangs and pings from missed targets. A sharp pain coursed through his back, followed by a strong tug from his upper fatigues. He could feel thick liquid ooze down his back and to his side as the force of this strong tug pulled him to the side.

Amidst the chaos and the constant thumping of discarded bullet cases on him, he could hear his breathing slow down gradually. His tensed body began to relax. He gazed at the lefty on the other side of the wall, reloading behind a large trash compartment. When he stood and aimed, a bright spark flashed on his helmet, causing it to fly off his cocked head and revealing his bloody face.

The small inescapable firefight intensified, spelling a gleam outcome for either side.

As soon as the dead man hit the ground, the lieutenant's world stopped.

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At the other part of town, three Shinra soldiers desperately enganged in close combat with an unknown figure. The figure danced in between the bewildered men, giving them absolutely no chance of fighting back.

The figure quickly side stepped behind one of the men, and kneed him on the leg. The shocked man knelt in pain as his adversary used him as a boost, somersaulting over his head and landed its legs around the neck of the other man in front of him.

The figure twisted, snapping the neck of the man and dropped to the floor, using his corpse as a shield for the other man who had accidentally thrusted his bayonet on the corpse.

As the man struggled to recover his bayonet, the figure let its legs go of the corpse and twisted, recovering from the ground.

The other soldier who had been kneed had recovered from the assault and began to aim his rifle at the figure. Unfortunately, he was too late as the figure spun behind him immediately after recovering, locking his arm behind him, grabbing his rifle in the process and firing the gun at the other soldier who had recovered his bayonet.

The bullets whittled down the bayonet-totting soldier and before he dropped to the ground, the figure kicked the last soldier into him.

The bayonet went through the soldier, the force of the impact causing both men to drop alongside their dead comrade.

The figure watched until none of them moved before throwing the rifle away and turning its back to them.

It coughed and lost its balance, still having the effects of weakness in its fragile body. It clung to a wall as it walked with much difficulty into the ongoing battle.

Determination pacified dizziness as the figure set off in search of someone.

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End of chapter 14

There everyone, I am very sorry for the uber long update! We just migrated to another country and it's been a while before we can settle down and get a computer for my files.

To the fans, don't worry. This ain't a dead story... Yet. Haha. Please R and R and I hope you still enjoy it. :-) 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15, enjoy.

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"Hmm... Yeah, I think I know where he is."

"Really? Please, tell me where.."

The man looked thoughtful for a moment. He adjusted his goggles which were fastened securely on his helmet. His helmet, along with his uniform, was full of dust. One could barely see the name Turnpike on his filthy clothes. He exhaled, "If I remember correctly..."

(Flashback)

"Turnpike, where do we go?" the voice cracked over his radio headset.

"Err... Left! Make a left here!" he replied, holding the small mic closer to his mouth.

The small vehicle made a small lurch, nearly throwing Turnpike off his balance. As they made a left, he held onto the mounted .30 cal and trained its sights on places where there might be possible ambushes.

"It's a dead end!"

Turnpike looked and saw a fallen tower completely blocking the road. "Let's find a way around this thing! Back-up!" he turned and faced his fellow tank commander who was on the other light tank behind them and made a large circle with his right hand.

He watched as the other commander nodded in approval. He held his mic closer to his mouth and mouthed something which Turnpike couldn't hear due to the distance and the noise of the tanks' engines. Soon enough, they were backing up.

"There," Turnpike involuntarily pointed, "There's a street down there."

"Where?"

The tank commander lowered his arm, remembering that the driver is inside the tank and he could not see him. "On your right. Enter there."

"I dunno, looks dangerous there." the driver pointed. The street is empty and deserted. Plus it was small, rendering their vehicles less maneuverable.

"Just go! It's the only nearest route now!"

There was a slight hesitation before the engine roared and the tank lurched. "Hey, can you lay it easy on the accelerator?"

"Sorry, I'm used to driving the heavy tanks. You need to pump more out of 'em to make 'em run."

Behind them, Turnpike could see the slight apprehension on the other commander's face. Turnpike then directed his attention to his driver, "Make a left at the end."

As they travelled further in the street, the faint gunfire echo became louder and louder. "Gunner! How much ammo do we have?"

A different voice cracked in the radio, "Name's Caulfield sir. And we still have five hundred twenty rounds in the twenty five millimeter. Just enough."

"We're almost there!" Turnpike informed. "Make a right down that street!"

His request was approved when the tank made a right. At the end of the street, he saw some Avalanche legionnaires sprinting to the other side of the road. One of them dropped dead.

"Glad to see some friendlies."

"Yup" Turnpike replied. "All right, weapons free! Let's go!"

Both tanks exited the street and blocked the avenue they entered, providing cover for the pinned Avalanche legionnaires. Turnpike cocked his .30 cal and began firing bursts at Shinra positions. Sparks flew as bullets hit the reinforced metal.

A car was ripped apart as the twenty five millimeter cannons fired at it, in a successful attempt to frag the hiding Shinra soldiers.

"Okay, let's move on!" Turnpike yelled over the radio.

On they moved, with the legionnaires flanking the sides of the tanks.

Eventually, they passed by an alley were another firefight was going. In the alley, they saw four Avalanche legionnaires engaged with the enemy. Turnpike saw two of them were dead. One was sprawled on his back beside a trash compartment, his face was full of blood. The other had his back against the wall.

Turnpike could tell that the man was an officer. "Over here!" He yelled at the four pinned men as he readied the mounted turret and provided covering fire for them.

One of the pinned men turned around and faced him, his gun emitting smoke from constant use. The man had no emotion in him and his blue eyes lost their color. The man nudged the other three men and they moved to the tanks, moving into position beside it.

They moved out of the area, occasionally coming in contact with pockets of Shinra soldiers and engaging in brief firefights.

When they were out of the danger zone, the soldiers climbed on the tanks and sat. Turnpike noticed the man whom they rescued in the alley sitting on his right. Turnpike could only see his back and a helmet covered the sides of his face.

The man never said a word the whole time. He just sat quietly, his head down.

Soon, they reached friendly territory where they were greeted by legionnaires. The tanks then dropped the rescued men.

(end of flashback)

"... that's the last time I saw him."

The figure lit up, "Where is this place?"

"Down in Xavier plaza. Last Avalanche foothold in Edge. I heard that they might try to take the city back, but with the meager forces they have, I doubt that they'll ever have a chance."

The figure smiled, glimmer in its eyes.

"It's too dangerous out there. Aren't civilians supposed to be evacuated?"

"I was evacuated. Don't worry, I can take care of myself." the figure coughed, "Thank you so much." with that, the figure left.

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Night was falling. The cool air was beginning to take its toll on the fragile figure. Soon enough, it had to stop and cough.

Its strength continuing to fail it, the figure uprighted an overturned chair and sat on it, hugging itself to keep the warmth. It began to fumble in its pockets, hopeful for anything that may keep it warm: a lighter, or perhaps a match.

But instead, it felt something small and cold. The figure felt it, taking in its distinct and familiar feel. The object somehow gave it warmth, and a realization of a promise that won't be broken.

The figure stood and oblivious to the cold, it resumed its search.

There were times when the figure felt too weak to continue. But its determination kept disregarding this feeling and eventually, the figure didn't feel it at all.

The ambience of the ruined city was despicable. Gloominess overtook the once gleeful city, the busy streets that were full of life were now empty and full of death, and the music of chirping birds which greeted you every morning was replaced by the music of gunfire which greeted you at every turn.

Distant gunfire echoed around the quiet ghost town, forcing the figure to quicken its pace.

But a sudden burst of weakness and cold broke the figure's morale. It was forced again to stop and rest.

Finding a nearly intact house, the figure punched out the window and entered. The house was pretty cozy and warm. The automatic heater was on and many of the furnitures were there.

There were two bedrooms, but the figure trespassed on only one of them. This one had a large, gaping hole on the wall. On the floor, there was a corpse. It took only a few seconds for the figure to realize that the body belonged to a Shinra soldier. It was sprawled beside a fixed gun turret that was hastily installed on the wall.

Down the wall and across the street, the figure saw a few dead legionnaires. They were probably killed by this Shinra soldier, judging by the way their bodies lay on the ground.

It was so sad, thinking that this was a child's bedroom. A room that once held a child safe and secure was now a warzone.

The figure wiped a tear before grabbing a flowery-decorated bedsheet from the bed and leaving. It went to the living room and laid on a couch, covering itself with the blanket.

There was a small fit of cough before sleep took over.

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A loud bang woke the figure up. Heavy footsteps were heard thumping hurriedly up to the other bedroom. On instinct, the figure hid itself under the blanket.

Another group of footsteps were heard, followed by a yell, "Over there!" the figure tensed, 'Was I discovered?'

Then, loud gunshots startled it. The figure had to resist the urge to cough for fear of being discovered. It just hoped that a stray bullet wouldn't hit it. It tightly shut its eyes and desperately prayed as the firefight ensued in the house.

Amidst the noise, the figure heard heavy footsteps coming towards it. It didn't move a muscle, tension and fear sweeping through its body. The figure began to shake but due to the fear of being discovered, it had to stop itself from shaking.

Suddenly, the figure shrieked when it felt something heavy on its body. It could feel one hand on its arm and another on its leg. All the more, the figure tensed in fear.

Fortunately, its shriek was accompanied by a loud burst of gunfire and so, it wasn't heard. But this person that had his hands on the figure's arm and leg scared the figure even more. It prayed that the person did not notice that there was somebody under the sheets.

Soon enough, the battle ended. There were heavy footsteps and voices around the house.

Still, the figure did not dare peep from under the blankets.

Then, in a short while, the figure could hear the men leaving. The figure counted to three and pushed the blankets, along with the man, off itself, jumped and landed into a fighting stance.

But the man, much to the figure's surprise, was a dead Shinra soldier.

And around it, there were three more dead Shinra soldiers. The figure immediately left through the now busted door and resumed its walk.

It was only now that it realized that morning had broken. By now, people were supposed to get themselves ready for the day ahead; not running for dear life and clashing in the streets.

The figure avoided confrontations with Shinra patrols and weaved through sidestreets. And before long, its goal was near.

Xavier plaza was just a few blocks ahead. The figure prayed that the person it was looking for was still there.

More distant gunfire was heard and the figure broke into a run.

It was only a few more steps before the plaza can be seen. The figure pushed itself even more, disregarding its aching legs and the pestering cough that were preventing it from running.

Over the next corner was the plaza, and there was no stopping now.

But the figure's hopes were shattered when two Shinra patrol jeeps came from the plaza into the street the figure was in. The figure immediately stopped and hid behind a building pillar as the jeeps cruised past.

Its worst fears were confirmed when it rounded the corner and saw Shinra soldiers crawling all over the plaza. There were burning vehicles and lots of dead legionnaires being carried away by the invaders.

The figure even saw a torn Avalanche flag being burned by the cheering men.

"No..." the figure gasped as its eyes began to water.

The pain of its overworked legs caught up to it and the figure dropped to its knees, "No... This can't be happening..." and the figure wept.

The figure brought its hands up to its face and sobbed uncontrollably, coughing in between sobs and allowing its weakness to take over it.

The man it was looking for was now gone- Its search was meaningless. When it realized that it can no longer see the man it risked its life to find, a seemingly large balloon popped inside it and tears of pain burst from its eyes. No longer can he come home with them and fulfill his promise. "Why?"

"He's gone..." in its chest, newfound pain contributed to its near collapse on the floor. It wished for the Shinra soldiers to go away. It wished that it would be given even just a few minutes to find the body. Even if they wouldn't leave, at least they would allow it to see the body and take it home. Just that wish, nothing more. "Please..." 

And on it cried, wishing, hoping, praying that this wasn't real.

Then, the figure felt a gentle hand on its shoulder, "Miss?"

The figure didn't say anything.

"It's too dangerous here. Let me help you."

"No, it's okay, I'm fine." the figure sobbed.

"It doesn't matter. We have to go before Shinra finds out we're here."

The figure looked up, and saw the face of a filthy legionnaire. "You're... a legionnaire?" and the sobbing stopped.

The man nodded, "I was one of the defenders of Xavier plaza during the Shinra assault. I was only one of the very few survivors."

"Survi- vors?"

He nodded again, "Come, let's go." and he offered his hand.

The woman took it and stood, newfound hope giving her the strength to keep on searching. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." the man replied, hoisting her up.

"Oh wait," the woman spoke, "Do you happen to know someone... by the name of..." she paused.

"Who?"

The woman took a deep breath, she braced herself for whatever answer she might recieve and spoke, "Cloud Strife?" her voice broke.

The man was quiet for a while, seemingly deep in thought. His face lit up a little and finally, he spoke, "Come, and I'll tell you everything."

New tears began to flow from the woman's face. She didn't know whether it was from sadness or perhaps... joy. The answer was uncertain yet it meant a lot to her. "Is he alive? Please tell me..."

"Now is not a good time for a story. First, we must leave." the soldier looked around for any threats before returning his sight to the woman. He received a nod for a reply. "Oh, by the way, I'm Elias Sodder. And you are?"

"Tifa." the woman spoke, "Tifa Lockheart."

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"So, what happened?"

"We were given orders by the commander to saddle up our stuff." Elias walked, guns drawn. Behind him, a curious Tifa followed. She was still wiping some of the tears from her face.

The legionnaire fell quiet all of a sudden and poke his head around a broken wall. She figured that it would be a good idea to keep quiet for a while.

Elias whispered, "Shinra patrol."

Curious, Tifa stacked some bricks and stepped on it, propping herself over the wall to peep. "Only four. We can take them." she whispered back.

"What are you doing? Get down!" he whispered hoarsely, tugging on Tifa's shirt to bring her down.

The woman stepped down beside Elias and grunted in disappointment. Her puffy eyes and pink cheeks contorted in a small frown.

"There are more of them hiding somewhere."

Tifa gave him a questioning look. She didn't want long delays; she wanted to see Cloud and make sure he's alright. It has been four days now, who knows what could've happened to him. But for now, she decided on resigning to the experienced soldier beside her to make it to him.

Besides, it wouldn't help much if something happened to her.

"Okay, let's go."

Tifa nodded, allowing Elias to lead the way.

"Xavier plaza was the most heavily-fortified Avalanche position in Edge." Elias continued. "We would've succeeded in defending it..."

The woman caught sight of a broken bicycle, "What do you mean?" 

"There was some sort of-" Elias paused to push some wooden boards aside, "misunderstanding in our ranks."

Tifa's eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment.

"The men in Xavier plaza were not under the command of the same field commander. Many of them came from different units commanded by their own lieutenants. The colonel was not there at that time and so, some of the lieutenants received some 'orders' to mobilize their troops and reclaim portions of the city."

"Not all received the order?"

"Nope. That's where the trouble started. The other lieutenants received orders to defend the plaza. There were some heated arguments but they followed their orders nevertheless."

"Now that doesn't seem right."

"It isn't. But we were trained to follow orders." Elias looked around the corner and through a fence, "It's clear. Come on."

Tifa paused. "But didn't they realize that the order was very suspicious?" She felt dizzy all of a sudden. Her knees almost gave up on her and she held on to a wall for support.

"It is. Almost half of the men were drawn out to attack different locations at once." Elias was completely oblivious to the woman's condition. Fortunately, he stopped, allowing Tifa to catch up.

"Where was Cloud in all this?" she asked weakly.

"He decided to stay, along with all the remnants of his unit. I was one of the men who were given the order to defend."

Tifa flinched at the mention of Cloud's name in the 'defend' part. For her, maybe it could've been better if Cloud was with the others who attacked, seeing the condition Xavier plaza was currently in. "What of the others who attacked, maybe we can find them." but then again, it would've been better if he wasn't drawn to this war at all.

The legionnaire lowered his head and spoke in a low tone, "It turned out that the enemy intercepted one of our radio transmissions, copied the frequency, and broadcasted the order to attack to the different lieutenants. They even used our code to make it look convincing."

Tifa placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "I'm sorry..."

But he continued, "But when we found out about it, it was too late. The men were ambushed and their units were completely obliterated. We were left nearly defenseless. Before we could react, we were hit by an artillery barage." He sighed. "Then, they attacked with such ferocity that we were completely swept away."

"Cloud... He was, okay right?"

Elias nodded.

"Where is he now?"

"I'm taking you to him."

Tifa's heart lept. A smile crept up her lips and a tear rolled down her cheek. 'Hold on Cloud, I'm coming.'

Normally, it would take a couple of minutes to go from one block to the other but this time, it would take them twice or thrice the time to get there. Sometimes even an hour.

Shinra's presence in the city is strong. The two almost always encounter patrols. Fortunately, they always manage to escape them.

Soon enough, night fell.

Elias had to think of a place to spend the night before continuing their journey since it was pretty dangerous at this time of the night. As they walked, he noticed a pile of rubble which was high enough for them to reach the attic of a broken house. He looked back at Tifa for approval but saw her drooping eyes and her staggered walk. Elias didn't think twice anymore. He holstered his weapon and began to climb the rubble, stopping now and then to help the tired woman up.

They found a small area in the attic where they hopefully could not be seen. There they sat, and waited for the long hours to pass. When night fell, Elias took out his flashlight, switched it on, and turned it upwards on the floor so that it can illuminate the area. He removed his helmet, running a hand through his brown hair and leaned his rifle on the wall before sitting against the same wall. He then placed his helmet beside him.

Across him Tifa sat, back against the wall, hugging her legs, and resting her head on her knees.

"Are you alright Tifa?" Elias noticed her pale face.

She merely nodded. Then she coughed, groaning in frustration as the cough gave her true condition away.

The legionnaire took out a can of his rations and a spoon. He opened it and handed it to Tifa, "Here. Might help regain your strength."

"Thanks." she replied, as she slowly took the can and began eating. It was only now that she realized she was pretty hungry.

"So," Elias began, staring at the flashlight. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the woman put the can down and watch him intently. Her ruby eyes shone in the light.

"Cloud..." Tifa spoke.

Elias turned his head to face her but his eyes remained on the floor, tracing the laces on his boots, "Yeah." he bent his knee a bit more to avoid accidentally kicking Tifa's feet.

After a long silence, Tifa began, "Cloud used to live with me, taking care of two adorable children. They were orphans but we consider them as our own." Tifa smiled as she recalled Marlene and Denzel's faces. At least she knows they would be safe, having Barret with them. "We had a very happy life. I thought we would stay together... As one happy family." then her face fell, "Before the war..."

Elias nodded solemnly, his eyes set upon the woman's face.

"Before, Cloud used to be away for days, weeks even. He was a delivery boy, you know." she continued. "Just last week he quit his job so that he could stay with us more often." Her voice cracked, "I thought we would be happy now, as a family. Especially now that he would be home more often, to take care of the kids, to stay..." she hid her face in her knees to hide the slight tinge of pink on her face, "...with me."

The legionnaire gave a slight smile at her story.

"Now the war tore us apart."

Elias saw her eyes began to form a watery shine. "Are your kids okay?" he hoped he didn't ask that.

Tifa nodded. "We have good friends who can take care of them for us."

"You know, you should stay with them, being their mother and all."

"But it wouldn't be the same if they lost another father." she blushed at the word.

"But losing both parents..." Elias figured that it would be futile to argue with her mostly because she was already here, "never mind."

"I just want our family to be together again."

Elias lowered his head in resignation.

"I remember the last time Cloud and I were together..." Tifa held her knees closer to her as if it was him. "We were on a date." she fumbled in her pocket and took out a silver object, shining in the light. "He gave me this." she then handed over the object to Elias who studied it carefully. "But then an explosion happened. I don't know, the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital. Cloud visited me often. Even if my eyes were closed, I could feel him there."

Tifa paused before continuing, "The only time I saw him with my eyes open was when he came in, haggard looking. He said that the people in the hospital were to be evacuated since the news about Shinra came. Before I was wheeled off in the ambulance to take me away from Edge, he returned that figurine to me. I thought I lost it since the explosion. And then..." she sighed, "He left... To fight." Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "But I couldn't let him go. I didn't want to let him go. But he left.

Seeing that figurine, I was given the courage to go and find him. I escaped from the ambulance, got some clothes, and made my way here."

The legionnaire returned the figurine, gently putting it in her hand, "If you believe that you will find him, you will."

"Elias, thank you."

The man raised a hand, "Don't mention it Tifa. I understand you perfectly."

The woman smiled. "Elias if you don't mind me asking, do you have someone you're fighting for?"

The legionnaire's face fell. He closed his eyes and forced a weak smile.

Tifa saw the sudden gush of sadness on his face, "I'm sorry for asking."

"There's no need to fight for someone anymore." he began. "Because I know that they are in a much safer place now..." he looked up to the ceiling, tears forming in his eyes. "Now, I am fighting for an end to this war."

Tifa nodded, keeping her gaze on her knees.

"I had a beautiful wife and a beautiful two year old daughter."

"What are their names?"

"My wife's name is Eva and my daughter's name is Bea."

"They are beautiful names." Tifa sympathized.

A smile formed on Elias' lips, "Yeah, they are. I bet they are in some of the most beautiful stars up there..."

Tifa smiled.

"I was a reserve, serving in the Local Defense Forces. The commander commissioned all reserves in Edge to the defense of the city. Eva and Bea were heartbroken when they found out that I was going to fight." he exhaled, "I promised them that I am going to see them soon and so, I made them go and leave the city." he bit his lip and lowered his head, "Then I found out that they got into a car accident. I didn't care about the details; all that mattered was if they were alive or not. But unfortunately..."

Tifa stood and sat beside the mourning soldier, moving his rifle aside and putting a hand on his shoulder to console him.

"Promise me one thing," the man spoke after a while.

"What is it Elias?"

"Promise me that you and Cloud will reunite with your two kids and make your family strong."

Tifa nodded, "Their names are Marlene and Denzel."

"Oh really? Then it looks like they would've been good friends with Bea." Elias smiled.

Tifa flashed him a sweet smile, "Yes they would."

Elias sighed, a smile lingering on his face, after a brief silence he spoke, "Well, you better rest, Tifa. First thing tomorrow we'll continue."

At this, Tifa frowned because she wanted to know a lot more about what happened to Cloud. But seeing the condition of Elias, she thought twice. This man has been through a lot. Tonight, he needed some rest.

The woman sighed and laid down on her side on the surprisingly warm floor.

"Cloud and the rest are holed up in an underground bunker in Vexin avenue. We're going to meet them there."

Well at least he answered the only question she ever needed answered. "Thank you. You need to get some sleep too." She smiled in reply and relaxed her closed eyes.

"Yeah I will."

Tifa heard a soft click and felt the place go dark. She felt so tired all of a sudden and allowed sleep to take over.

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A/N Okay now there's chapter 15 for you.  
Please R and R. I know, all writers keep on nagging you guys to read and review their stories and it can get pretty annoying to some. So, if you do not want to be annoyed, just push the little button down there on reviews and leave a thing or two for the story. They might stop asking for reviews then, right:-)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story. :-) 


	16. Chapter 16

Ah. I just read chapter 15 again to get the flow of the story back in my mind. Now I feel ready for another chapter.

How about you? Ready for another chapter?

Enjoy.

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For the umpteenth time in her life, a rooster woke her up.

Well, she could've sworn that there was a rooster in this godforsaken battleground, or maybe she was simply hallucinating. Either way, she did wake up. Tifa found her body was surprisingly heavy. And hot too. Maybe she was catching a fever?

When she sat up, something large fell from her back. She looked at what it was and picked it up, realizing that it was a legionnaire's vest. She studied the padded garment carelessly and saw a name patch with the letters 'Sodder E' stitched on it.

'Speaking of which, where was Elias?'

"Oh, so you're awake."

Tifa looked at the source of the voice. There Elias stood, helmet hanging by the chin straps in one hand and rifle held in the other. His dark hair was pretty messy, though not as messy compared to Cloud's. Elias was much slimmer than yesterday though. She held the vest out to the man, "Thanks for the blanket."

Elias nodded curtly and took it. "You ready to go?"

The woman stood, running her hands through her hair. She frowned when some of it wouldn't go down.

"No one's gonna see that." Elias joked.

"Cloud will."

"Oh, he won't mind." the man zipped up the vest, moving his arms for the garment to fit snuggly. "You look happy."

"Well, you told me to believe." she grunted in resignation when her stubborn hair remained, well, stubborn. "I'm ready." Her hunch was right: the vest did make him look as big as yesterday.

Elias strapped his helmet on and grinned at her. "Shall we?"

Tifa nodded and she made her way out of their hiding place after the legionnaire.

Elias dropped down from the rubble with a thud before helping Tifa down. They made their way through another alley, luckily encountering no Shinra soldiers.

"Isn't that heavy?" Tifa pointed at the vest, in an attempt to break the silence.

"Not really," Elias patted the front of the garment "When you're used to it."

Tifa giggled, "Cloud carries a large buster sword."

Elias raised an eyebrow at this.

"But he carries it with ease, like its nothing." Tifa looked at the legionnaire, her eyes shining and her face lit. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

"He must be strong." Elias peered around for possible threats.

"He's just used to it."

Elias laughed a little.

"It does make you wonder..." Tifa continued.

"About how he wields that sword?"

"No."

Elias studied her partly downcast face. He could tell that she had changed the topic.

"About... I mean," she began, "War." she faced Elias, "Are you used to it?"

"War?... I, actually, this is my first war." he sighed, looking up at the sky, "And I don't want to get used to it."

"Cloud... He was used to it." Tifa clutched her right arm, "Too used to it."

"And you?"

"I was too... In the first war." Tifa closed her eyes, "We wanted it to end. We wanted to forget that feeling. Live regular lives."

"Sometimes, it is important for things like these to happen."

Tifa opened her eyes and shot a puzzled look at Elias.

"It is when we undergo great difficulty that we become strong."

"But, is war a necessary difficulty?"

The legionnaire shrugged, "Who knows? We didn't know that there will be a war. At least now we're prepared for this difficulty."

Tifa did not say anything. He was right though, nobody knew that a war was coming. At least she was supposed to be prepared, after undergoing the gruesome battles of the first war.

However, she did not really prepare herself for it. How can you prepare if you did not know that it was coming?

When the alley ended, they had to cross the street, passing over a fairly large group of dead bodies. They were Avalanche soldiers. "Poor fellas," Elias whispered.

Tifa moved around them, careful not to kick any of the bodies. "Did they have a chance?"

"It's sad. They came all the way here under orders. Said there was a makeshift Shinra supply center in here and that they should tear it down."

"You mean-" Tifa gasped.

"They were fooled. There was nothing here but empty space. And before they turned back, all hell broke loose."

"This is horrible..."

"What isn't?"

They tried to avoid the street as much as possible, pressing as far as they could to the sidewalk. They walked quietly, praying that they would make it through when finally, they saw what seems like an alley. They entered it, inching their way through.

Only to find a dead end.

Elias sighed. His eyes searched for a way through but found none.

"We can turn back." Tifa suggested.

"I won't risk it out there on the street." Elias leaned his back against the wall and took the moment to relax.

Tifa tried again to put her hair down but to no avail. She sighed, leaning on the wall next to him. Now is the time, she thought, for another story-telling. She took the opportunity and asked, "And then what happened?"

"Where?"

"To you."

"You mean Cloud?"

"Yeah. And you too. You're my friend; I also want to know what happened to you." Tifa looked at him intently.

Elias smiled weakly. He broke eye contact and dropped his gaze down on Tifa's shoes. Quietly, he began...

(flashback)

"Okay fellas!" A heavily-laden soldier stood amidst a group of soldiers as men and vehicles moved about. Radio chatter was heard through the makeshift tents. But the sound of vehicles and men's voices were predominantly heard. Judging by the way he looks, one could tell that he was a captain. "The other bastards left us to fend for ourselves in this hellhole!"

One of the men held no emotion in his face. He closed his blue eyes and sighed inwardly. A sword was strapped to his back while he hung a rifle on one hand. It was Cloud, though it was difficult to recognize him due to the change of clothes. Right now, he wore the same clothing the soldiers wore since the attire was appropriate for these conditions.

But he didn't mind, as long as he can come home.

"Hey! Where's our tanks?" One legionnaire spoke, his familiar black hair ruffled in the wind.

"Seventh armored cohort?" the captain inquired. "They're somewhere else Sodder, picking up the other lost bastards. Now here's what's gonna happen! I heard command say that they're bringing in reinforcements from a small garrison somewhere between here and Midgar! Now once these guys arrive, we'll take back the city!"

The others, except Cloud, cheered in excitement at the news.

"Nothing to cheer about yet lasses! Until then, we are to hold the plaza! Keep your eyes open for anything!"

Just then, a whizzing sound was heard followed by an explosion. The captain lay bloodily on the ground, his clothes torn.

"Son of a-" one of them blurted out.

Immediately afterwards, the whole place began blowing up. On instinct, the group ducked low and ran for the bunkers.

Wait a minute, what bunkers?

Around them, explosions kicked up mounds of dust, destroyed equipment, and silenced panicked men.

They were also responsible for the destruction of their makeshift bunkers.

The alarm then sounded, its red lights illuminated the place. One could not tell the difference between blood and the light from the alarm whenever it passed them. Its distinct wailing pierced the panic and chaos that engulfed the area.

Elias ran after his other five companions as they made their way to one of the entrances to the plaza. Hopefully, the sandbags there can offer some kind of protection.

To his right, he caught a glimpse of the cavalry. The men were more occupied in calming down their panicked chocobos than finding a safe haven. Some chocobos lay on the ground, killed by the blasts from the barrage. Their riders either met the same fate or were about to meet that fate.

Another explosion mutilated a chocobo and tossed its dismembered rider off it.

Elias returned his gaze in front of him, only to catch a glimpse of an artillery shell landing next to a passing truck, causing it to topple over some of the unfortunate soldiers caught under it.

But the legionnaire continued to run, using the shine on Cloud's sword as his guide amidst the dust. He nearly tripped on a body as he ran but he found no time to look at the bodies and the dying men screaming on the ground as he passed them.

If you were in this condition, you wouldn't find the time to do so.

Cloud dodged another blast that occured next to him.

It seemed like they had been running forever when in actuality, their destination was only a few meters away. Elias dodged more explosions as he dashed like mad after his companions. At times he could even feel the dust kick up behind him whenever a shell landed there.

And then, he began to yell. He yelled in fear. He yelled as he felt his equipment and his gun begin to weigh him down and slow his run. He yelled as comrades were tossed in the air due to the blasts. He yelled whenever he saw a dying face. He yelled in the painful realization that he wouldn't make it.

Without a clear thought, he threw his rifle away and unzipped his vest. Maybe if he did so, he would get lighter.

He almost lost his balance when the shockwave of another explosion hit him. He frantically recovered from it, realizing that the wind was entering the now open vest and began slowing him down.

Now he had to ditch the vest too.

But before he could do so, he found himself diving as a shell landed right were he last was.

And then, the shelling stopped. Slowly, he looked up and saw five faces looking down on him. One of them was Cloud's emotionless face. Elias could see the blonde was panting hard from the sprint.

He made it.

"Sodder! Where the hell's your gun?" One of the men spoke.

"I lost the damn thing!"

"Then get another one, we ain't out of this yet!"

Elias stood, using the sandbags as support and made his way back to look for any gun he can find. He saw some of the survivors running past him and began forming a blockade at the entrances of the plaza.

Luckily for him, he found a heavy machinegun next to a dead soldier. "I'm sorry buddy." he whispered before taking the gun. The box holding the bullet belt was damaged. Elias took out the box and slung the long bullet belt over his shoulder.

He held the heavy weapon firmly in his two hands and ran back, completely ignoring the hanging bullets as they clanged against each other and as they constantly bumped into Elias.

"Hurry up!"

Elias heard one of the men yell at him as he approached. When he reached the sandbags, he took the long bullet belt and handed it to one man, "Here. Hold this."

The man laid his rifle on the sandbags and took the bullets, holding them with care. Elias then unfolded the tripod at the front of the gun and positioned it on top of the sandbags. He caught a glimpse of Cloud next to him, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

"Here they come!" They heard a legionnaire yell from the other sandbags.

And soon enough, the bullets were flying. There was a multitude of Shinra soldiers running to their position. Elias fired away, partly amazed by the sound and power of the gun he's holding. Beside him, the man held the bullet belt with both hands, supporting it as it was fed into the gun.

After a wave of the Shinra grunts were taken care of, the heavy troopers came in, with their shields up. Behind them, APCs followed. The rest of the soldiers used the APCs as cover as they advanced.

Fortunately for the legionnaires, they have two twenty millimeter guns with them. The guns fired their distinct, thunderous sounds, their bullets penetrating the heavy troopers' shields and killing them.

One of the APCs even caught fire when it was hit by the guns.

The sandbags were punctured as they took the brunt of Shinra gunfire. The burning APC veered to the right and stopped dead in front of a metal fence, giving Elias a clear shot at the soldiers who were hiding behind it.

Eventually, it came to a point where in Shinra soldiers began throwing grenades into the sandbags. The legionnaires however, picked them up and threw them back.

Soon enough, Shinra's numbers began to thin. The legionnaires were winning.

But before they could celebrate, the radioman yelled, "Everyone fall back to the plaza center! They've breached the east side!"

"What?"

"We have to fall back! The guys there need our help!"

Elias found himself running once again amongst twenty legionnaires, leaving behind them eight dead comrades. One of them was the guy who supported the bullet belt of the heavy machinegun. He was last seen laying limply on the sandbag.

The tripod of his heavy machinegun was still down. He didn't even have the time to bother retracting it. He only remembered standing up, pulling the bullet belt from his dead comrade's hands, and catching up to his fellow legionnaires.

Cloud though, was still emotionless.

Once they reached the plaza center, they were greeted by Shinra gunfire. At once, six of the men dropped dead. One of them managed to scream as he was hit. The rest reacted by crouching low behind a long wall.

"We're too late! They have taken the plaza!"

Just then, the radioman picked up another transmission from high command.

"What is it?" one man asked, as he fought back. The rest, including Elias, followed suit in defending themselves.

"They request all soldiers," the radioman began, "To pull out of Edge. Let's pack our bags guys, we're getting out of here."

"But what about the reinforcements?" Elias retorted.

"We no longer have reinforcements!" the radioman yelled. The others stopped, puzzled. "After they learned about what happened here, they cancelled it. Instead, they will send us extraction vehicles at the south-western side of town. At least lets be grateful for having that luxury."

The soldiers looked at one another as bullets whipped at the other side of the wall. A corporal spoke up, "Okay folks, let's go."

There was a slight reluctance, but seeing the multitude of Shinra soldiers in the plaza, they had to obey.

The thing is, they needed to fight through the Shinra lines to get there.  
And fight they did.

Cornered by all sides, they stood their ground and battled for their lives.

After losing four more men, they managed to break a hole in the Shinra defense. Elias dropped the heavy gun and picked up the rifle of a fallen comrade, apologizing to his body in the process.

Then, with pure adrenaline, the remaining ten of them stood up in plain view and charged right through their avenue of escape. Shinra crossfire suddenly grew intense as they dodged the whizzing bullets.

They swore that they could even catch a glimpse of the bullets ripping through the air. One of the bullets though, clipped the corporal. He yelped in agony as he tripped and tumbled on the ground.

Two of the men came back and picked up the officer. Amidst the hail of gunfire, they managed to drag the limping man back with the group.

One unlucky man took a bullet straight through his head and he fell dead.

Another one was hit by a fair number of bullets. When he dropped to the ground, Cloud tripped on his body.

Elias saw this so he doubled back on him, "You alright?" he said, as he grabbed Cloud's garments and helped him up.

"Thank you." was all Cloud managed to say as he got to his feet and ran.

(end flashback)

"We made it out of there." Elias finished.

Tifa smiled.

"And you know what's funny?" he looked at her.

"what?"

"We laughed our asses off."

Tifa raised an eyebrow at him.

"With all that intense running and shooting, and we still made it through."

Tifa could imgaine Cloud in a victory pose, laughing hard, both hands on his belly. But... It just didn't look right.

Nevertheless, she giggled at the thought.  
"War can make one lose his sanity."

Tifa pondered for a moment. War is, without a doubt, horrible. Even if Cloud did make it out alive...

Will he still be the same Cloud Strife?

"Okay, story time is over. We better keep moving."

"You're right. We've wasted enough time."

Elias looked at the wall that barred their path. Maybe they could climb it or something. But when he found no protrusion or any good place where in they could put their hands and feet, he studied his surroundings. Maybe there was something here that they could use.

And then the answer came rolling to him: A large metallic trash bin pushed by Tifa. She positioned it against the wall and brushed her hands against each other to remove the dirt.

"Well," Elias began, "Ladies first." and then he climbed on top of the trash bin. From this height he was able to jump and grab the top part of the wall. He partly pulled himself up, enough so that he can peep through the other side.

When it was clear, he hoisted himself up on the wall. And then he turned to help Tifa up.

But she was already hoisting herself up on the wall. So the legionnaire just supported her even if it didn't seem necessary. He then dropped to the other side with a heavy thud.

It was then followed by a much softer thud.

The two figures began their cautious walk on this new alley. Vexin avenue was still a long walk from this area but before, it used to be a mere five minute drive.

Suddenly Elias heard a sound. The two of them immediately stopped.

"What is it?" Tifa asked but she was silenced by the alerted legionnaire. She saw him pull out his small extendable baton from his belt and unfolded the blade attached to it. Whatever it was, she prepared herself for the worst.

Suddenly, out of the corner, a Shinra soldier appeared. And luckily for the two, he turned away from them.

Unfortunately, Elias stepped on a dried leaf. It crunched under his weight, alerting the Shinra soldier.

The soldier turned around and uttered a "What the-" before Elias pulled him into a corner and drove the blade into his chest.

The sounds attracted the attention of another soldier, "Hey you!" the second Shinra soldier pulled out his gun and before he fired at the legionnaire, Tifa sprung into action, jumping in front of him and landing a powerful punch on the soldier's facemask.

The punch was so strong that it shattered the plastic glass that covered his eyes. The shards then blinded him. As he screamed in pain, Tifa chopped his neck and silenced him. "That was close."

"We aren't out of the woods yet." Elias said, returning his baton on his belt.

Just then, they heard a deafening whirling noise and the air began to kick up around them.

"The guys we killed were ground scouts for their scout chopper. No doubt we got its attention by now." Elias continued. And he was right, for they found themselves running away, a small helicopter on their tail.

As the chopper began firing its guns at the two figures, Elias pushed Tifa out of the way. A bullet cut through Elias' sleeve but fortunately for him, it did not hit graze skin.

The chopper hovered about them, finding the best angle to kill the two helpless figures.

Elias dove while Tifa jumped to the side as the bullets passed them. The chopper hovered past them and began to turn around to face them. As it did so, Elias grabbed Tifa's hand and pulled her into a narrow alley to hide.

After a while, its whirling sound disappeared. "Is it gone?" Tifa whispered, panting.

Elias shrugged, he too was panting. "Stay here."

Tifa crossed her fingers as the legionnaire slowly stepped out on the street and peered around for the chopper. After about a second, he motioned her to come over.

As she approached him the distinct whirling sound came back and they watched in horror as the aircraft soared from the small buildings to their left and faced them.

The two ran, and entered a heavily-cemented building for cover. They ran up the second floor as the chopper strafed the windows of the first floor and destroyed many of the objects inside.

The chopper then peered around the windows of the second floor to find its quarries.

Tifa and Elias however, were taking cover behind a large cement pillar. As the chopper's lights searched the floor, Elias leaned out of the pillar and aimed his rifle at the cockpit. When he had a perfect shot at the pilot, he opened fire.

"No way!" he said as the bullets merely bounced off the glass. "The thing's bullet proof!" With their position given away, the legionnaire hugged Tifa, shielding her as the bullets ripped through the floor.

After the hail of gunfire, Elias peered around the corner to anticipate its next move.

But the next move never came as a rocket hit the chopper on the side. With a deafening explosion, the aircraft was cut in half, droppping to the ground in a smoldering wreckage. Some fragments of its sleek metal frame rested on the floor while others scattered outside the building.

"What happened?" Tifa was now peering out of the wall.

"Someone just took it out." Elias pushed aside the upturned tables and chairs and scattered office supplies before he motioned for Tifa to follow.

They descended the short flight of stairs into the now messy first floor. They found a rotor blade partly blocking the front door. Elias approached the obstacle and began to push it aside.

However, he found the blade to be too hot and his hands suffered from this high temperature. His reflexes kicked in, causing his hands to retract. He blew into them and frantically rubbed them together to relieve him from the pain.

Tifa, with her gloved hands, stepped up and pushed the blade aside. But instead of just actually being pushed aside, it fell flat on the street with a loud clang. She was about to walk outside when Elias stopped her.

"Better watch it."

The woman looked at him, her hands on her waist. She stepped aside and raised a hand and presented the doorway, "Ladies first?"

The legionnaire approached her, "Yup." he said before exiting the building. Tifa followed closely behind.

The place was a mess. There were burning parts of various shapes and sizes everywhere. The most prominent parts, the cockpit and the tail, lay a few feet apart from each other. The tail was somewhat intact, though a few blades from the tail rotor were missing. The cockpit however, had collapsed upon itself. The pilot was not visible, crushed by the disfigured metal frame.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tifa saw three figures slowly revealing themselves amidst the rubble of an adjacent building. She gasped and shot a look in that direction.

Her sudden actions alarmed Elias who quickly turned and pointed his rifle.

"Whoa! Easy there!" one of the figures spoke.

Immediately, Elias lowered his gun, a smile creeping on his lips. "Friendlies!"

It didn't take long for Tifa to digest the identities of the three men. All wore the same clothing Elias wore. She smiled as well.

The man on the left held a large anti-air weapon with one hand, while the rest of the weapon lay on his back and shoulder. There was smoke emitting from the front end of it.

The man on the middle held a nice-looking rifle, similar to the one that Elias was carrying. But it looked a bit different, for it had a scope that was attached to it.

The last man, the one on the right, held the exact same rifle Elias was carrying. The only thing that was different with this man was that his helmet was white in color with red crosses painted around it. He also had a white armband with a red cross stitched on it. His vest seemed more loaded with stuff as compared to the other soldiers.

"Thanks for the save." Elias spoke. "Glad to see some friendlies."

The man who held the scoped rifle answered, "No prob. Just happened to be passing by when we stumbled upon that chopper. Been causing us trouble lately. By the way, I'm sergeant Ulysses Hankel." he then offered his hand to Elias who in turn, took it with gratitude.

The man on the left spoke next, "Corporal Terrence Sleeker." he stretched out his hand, his large, tube-like weapon shifted as he moved.

The medic spoke last, "Private EZ Kristoff." he too, held out his hand.

"Private Elias Sodder," Elias introduced, "and this is Tifa Lockheart."

Tifa merely smiled.

After the introduction, Tifa and Elias were invited by the three legionnaires to come with them to their temporary hideout.

The two accepted the invitation and soon enough, the five of them were walking. Hankel was on the lead, followed by Terrence then EZ. Tifa trailed behind the medic while Elias covered their backs.

"So," Tifa spoke. "Where were you guys from?"

The medic was the one who answered, "We came from Lieutenant Rob Langford's unit."

"Langford?" Elias asked.

"Yeah."

"He and his men were supposed to 'ambush a Shinra supply convoy' as far as I know."

EZ forced a laugh, "The bastards. It was the other way around."

"So I've heard."

"Sorry about what happened." Tifa said. They walked silently for about an hour, only their footsteps and the clanging of their equipment made the noises.

Soon, they stopped in front of a boarded-up old house. "Well, here we are," Hankel spoke. Tifa looked up at the shabby structure. It was a small house, made out of wood, very dirty and pretty much... old. There were cobwebs on the ceiling, the floors seem unstable due to termite infestation, who knows what other defects this dingy place held within.

As they entered, the wooden floors creaked with every step they made. Tifa nearly jumped when she accidentally stepped on a small termite mound. Thousands of tiny parasites panicked as their home was crushed. Elias, on the other hand, sneezed.

"Most comfy place hell has to offer." Terrence commented as he settled his large weapon on the dusty wooden table. "It was a surprise this place survived the initial shellings when the Shins invaded."

There was a map on the table, with a radio acting as its paperweight. Tifa approached the map, noticing that it was a map of Edge. She studied it, taking note of their location (marked by a black circle on the map). Vexin avenue was only four more blocks away. And in this part of the city, a block was not that long.

"Anyway," Elias spoke, "Didn't you guys receive the order from command?" he pointed at the radio.

"To pull out?" Hankel confirmed.

Elias nodded. Each of them took a seat. Elias almost jumped up when his chair creaked.

"Yeah we did. But before we were going to run with our tails tucked between our legs," Hankel leaned over to Elias and spoke in a low tone, "We heard that the Shins hold a copy of a document containing their plans of action and a certain machine that transmits orders to them in a language our computers do not understand. We intend to steal them."

"Just the three of you?"

"And some survivors." Hankel eyed him suspiciously, "If we find some, and they are willing to join us."

Elias shifted his gaze from the sergeant to Tifa, who was now walking towards them, and then back to the sergeant.

Hankel leaned back on his chair saying, "I see..."

"Elias, Vexin avenue is close by. We're almost there." Tifa's sweet voice broke the tension.

"Hold on," Hankel interrupted, "You're going to Vexin avenue?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I'm looking for somebody. Perhaps you know him, Cloud Strife?"

"I'm chauffering her." Elias added. But Hankel paid no attention.

"He's a soldier too, like you." Tifa added.

The sergeant shrugged, "I don't know him. So, you're on your way to Vexin avenue?"

Tifa nodded.

Hankel spoke in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry but..."

The woman's heart raced. 'What was he sorry about?'

He then looked at her straight in the eyes, "Vexin avenue was overrun by a regiment of Shins earlier this morning."

Elias was thrown in disbelief. He looked at Tifa and watched how she would react to this.

Surprisingly, her face was blank. He couldn't read any noticeable expression from it. Slowly her head turned to his direction. In her eyes was shock and a slight hint of failure. Elias tried to hide the disbelief in his face from her but as much as he tried to, she was able to read it.

"But we've got a bunch of guys out there!" Elias faced the sergeant, "Surely they could've fought back..." He faced Tifa, hopefully what he said would've lightened her up.

But she remained blank.

"I don't know," Hankel replied, "We did receive a SOS transmission in Avalanche frequency from that area. But as far as I'm concerned, it wouldn't be advisable to go there. Shins are crawling all over the place."

Tifa's face turned slightly pale. Deep inside, her heart began to shatter into a million pieces.

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(A/N)  
For those who reviewed, and added this story to their favorites/alerts list, I thank you. Hope you enjoyed this simple chap.

So there, please review. :-) 


	17. Chapter 17

Again, thank you for loving my story. Here's chapter 17, a reward in return.  
Sit back, turn on your music, enjoy scrolling the page down, and pressing that review button. Hehehe.

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"We repeat!" there was a loud static and cracks of gunfire. "Our zone is hot!" On the background, there was a large bang followed by a faint voice that said something like, "they've broken through!"

The gunfire grew much louder amidst the incoherent voices. Again, the operator spoke, "The enemy has moved in to Vexin avenue..." there was static, "...fighting back as much as we can..."

A burst of fire then a gag was heard, "We... down! Man down!" somebody yelled from the background.

"We request- AGH! GOD!" the radioman uttered these last words before they heard a loud bang and the radio died.

Elias rewound the tape and played it again.

"We repeat!" the voice started, as the tape began to play for the third time. Elias rested his face in his hands, closed his eyes, and listened intently.

"Agh! GOD!" then the bang, then the line died.

"Is this all?" Elias muttered.

"Yes. That's all." Hankel stood next to him.

Elias sighed and rewound the tape for the fourth time. He tried to find a clue as to where the men could possibly be right now. Hopefully they aren't dead.

"I'm sorry." Hankel spoke, his head downcast. EZ sat on a chair while Terrence leaned on the wall, arms folded. They watched as Elias focused on the recording.

Tifa simply stood beside Elias, her face still blank. She has been desperately trying to catch the sound of Cloud's voice amidst the radio chatter. For the fourth time, she couldn't hear it.

With a shattered heart and weak legs, she fainted.

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Groggily, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a broken ceiling fan that was covered in cobwebs. It was the first time she noticed its existence. She moved her hands and slowly felt the area around her. Apparently, she realized, she was on a table.

And her back started to ache too.

Then she heard the familiar cock of a weapon. She turned to face the source of the sound, groaning as her back began to hurt from her movements. There she saw Elias, all suited up and studying his rifle. He holstered his rifle and picked up a few magazines from the chair next to him, checked them for bullets and placed them in their respective places in his belt.

"How do you feel?" Elias wasn't looking up but the sounds Tifa's movements made told him that she was awake.

"Better, thank you." Tifa tried to sit up. "Where are the others?"

"They left. Said they were going to scout around."

"Oh." she watched as he strapped his helmet on, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to try to find those guys." he tilted his head to the direction of the radio.

Tifa stood, her legs a bit wobbly and weak. She took her time, supporting herself on the table before she could find the strength to stand on her own. But thinking about the radio transmission she heard, she found it difficult to keep her legs from giving out.

"Tifa, listen." Elias stood next to her as she held on to the table, "We are heading into an enemy-infested area. Our chances of survival are going to be pretty slim, if there are at all. And we are going there without the assurance that Cloud and the others are still there and still alive."

Tifa closed her eyes and forced a weak smile, "That was what I was thinking of before I entered this city."

Elias sighed, looking at her intently, "Are you sure you want to go on with this? If not, I can do it by myself. You can stay here where it is safe, and I'll bring him back to you."

"Elias, tell me a story."

The man became silent for a while. Slowly, he sat on the table. He let out another sigh before looking back at her.

"Your stories mean so much to me."

Smiling, he finally nodded. He looked up, closed his eyes, and let the memories flood into his mind,

(flashback)

They ran, the remaining eight of them. And limped, as to the injured corporal's case. They've encountered a few Shinra patrols, all hell-bent on killing them. Right now, they were being pursued on foot by some of those black-clad soldiers.

One of the men turned and fired blindly at their pursuers. The Shinra soldiers jumped out of the way, hiding behind obstacles, and buying the fleeing men some more time.

Soon enough, their pursuers caught up to them. The legionnaires suffered one casualty when their comrade was killed by enemy fire as they ran and since then, they decided that running would be futile at the moment.

They hid behind cars and any usable cover they could find, ducking as the bullets whizzed by.

The Shinra soldiers, upon seeing their intentions, found cover for themselves. 

A firefight ensued between the remnants of Avalanche forces and the Shinra soldiers. The exchange of bullets lasted for about an hour.

The only Avalanche casualties were a man who got shot in the arm and a legionnaire who was killed. On the other hand, Shinra lost three men and had four others injured.

The legionnaires organized themselves in two groups of four and three as they retreated. The first group engaged the remaining Shinra soldiers while the second group stood and retreated. Among those in the second group was Cloud, who got shot but was luckily saved by the large sword that was strapped on his back, and the injured corporal who needed immediate evacuation. Elias remained covering them in the first group.

At a considerable distance away, the second group took their turn and covered the first group. The first group found themselves crawling on the rocky street to avoid the crossfire between friendly and hostile forces.

The only casualty during this tense retreat was when the second group was covering the men in the first group. One of the men accidentally shot his retreating comrade. He was hysterical and wouldn't leave his spot even when the man he shot survived with only a scratch on his shoulder.

The hysterical man, aptly named Kyle Scherzo, had to be literally carried away. Eventually he stopped and got a hold of himself for three reasons: One, when the man he shot forgave him, two, when the others told him that he was becoming a burden with all his whining, and three, when they convinced him that it was the enemy who did the shooting and he had nothing to do with it.

Of course, they all knew that the third one was a lie; even Kyle was aware of it. But what could they do, he had to shut up or risk having him and/or all of them killed. Eventually he bought the lie. Sometimes war can make people lose their sanity and their clear sense of thinking.

"Can we stop for a while and rest? My arm is killing me!" They hadn't realized it but they had been walking for a while now without rest and, surprisingly, without speaking much to each other.

Elias looked at the man who broke the silence. He was covering his bleeding arm with a blood-soaked handkerchief. It looked like he was shot pretty bad. But what could they do? They were in enemy territory and there was definitely no medic. The one they had with them was dead.

They didn't know how to treat gunshot wounds; only how to treat an enemy mercilessly.

"You can say that again," came another weak voice. It was the corporal, limping, and with a pale face. He was hunched over, a bloody hand on his side and an arm over the shoulder of a legionnaire.

"The only time we can rest is when we're outta here. We have to keep moving."

With that said, the injured just gritted their teeth and hoped that they would make it out. They prayed that they would not delay for the pain of their injuries were bothering them.

"Just continue applying pressure. Sorry but that's all we can do now." Elias spoke.

The man with the injured arm fought back by tightly tying his blood-soaked handkerchief around his arm and continue using it normally. Sure it didn't help ease the pain much. But it also wouldn't help him survive if he only had one arm.

"Shinra scout jeep!" Kyle yelled, causing the remaining men to dive for the ground, laying prone.

The corporal cursed loudly when the man supporting him also dove to the ground. The officer lost his balance and dropped to the ground, causing more pain to his injury. "For god's sake!"

"Sorry sir!"

Behind them, a vehicle came racing towards their position. They could hear it firing and the bullets hitting the ground around them, unfortunately hitting one man who was unlucky enough to have been laying where the bullets hit.

The legionnaires fired at the jeep, first killing the gunner, then hitting the driver. The jeep lost control and banked to the left, hitting a bench and toppling over. The men then began shooting at the remaining three passengers as they crawled out of the wreckage.

Once they were dead, the legionnaires agreed that they have to move much faster for they began to hear more vehicles approaching their position. They stood, one man helping the corporal up, while the other tried to help their comrade who was hit. Once they identified him as killed in action, they left him.

They learned the hard way that feet can not outrun wheels when an APC caught up to them. Luckily for the men, there was no gunner on the APC and so the Shinra soldiers inside it had to disembark and fight on foot.

Cloud, Kyle and another man stopped and engaged the pursuing Shinra soldiers. They managed to shoot two of them who weren't fast enough to find cover and dodge the bullets. They moved on and caught up to the rest of their comrades.

"Let's enter there and fight inside!" Elias pointed at a fairly nice house. It looked intact, saved from the shelling and gunfights. One window was broken though, and it looked like something the size of a fist hit it.

The group ganged on the door while one of the men kicked it down with a loud bang. They entered the house, their feet thumping loudly on the marble floor. Elias was partly surprised that the house was actually in one piece. Many of the furnitures were there, the heater was surprisingly on, and it was cozy and warm despite the warzone around it.

Elias found it somewhat odd that on an intact couch was a flowery-decorated blanket. But he didn't care, for there were more pressing matters at hand.

He also saw Cloud looking around as they headed hurriedly up the stairs. He could tell that the blonde was surprised as well. But there was no time to marvel at the surroundings. Once they took up positions on top of the stairs, five Shinra soldiers appeared on the doorway.

"Over there!" the masked men fired at the six survivors. Then there was another firefight.

It was clear that the Avalanche soldiers had the advantage. The thick walls and the height offered their blessings to the legionnaires while soft chairs and wooden tables offered naught but the satisfaction that there was at least some cover for the Shinra soldiers.

Cloud then managed to kill the man behind the table.

Elias cursed when his clear shot at another infantryman missed as the man dodged and hid behind the doorway. But what caught his eye was that he thought he saw the flowery blanket on the couch move.

The bullets nicked the wall Elias was hiding, causing small cement debris to hit him and snap him out of it. This time, he saw an enemy soldier run across the room, possibly finding a good place for cover.

Elias didn't allow him that luxury. He immediately fired at the running man. The soldier died, sprawling the top half of his body on the flowery blanket and the couch while his lower half remained on the floor.

At that time, Elias swore he could've heard a shriek somewhere. He turned to the man beside him, "Did you hear that?" he yelled.

"Yep! I heard him drop good! Nice shot Sodder!" the man yelled back.

"No! I meant like a shriek or something!"

"If he had his mask off, I'm pretty sure you'll hear him shriek!"

Looks like no one heard it. Elias shrugged it off as maybe the soldier he killed. But still, it was too high-pitched to be a man.

Or quite possibly...

The soldier he killed was gay?

Once they were able to kill another Shinra soldier, the remaining two began to run out and withdraw from the battle. In the process, the legionnaires managed to get one of them.

Then it became quiet.

"Did you get them?" the corporal asked. He was completely hidden, his injured state disallowing him to engage in combat. He had a pistol in his hand for protection just in case.

With their guns trained on the door and windows, they waited for another batch to come. Since one soldier escaped, he probably would've called for reinforcements.

But none seem to have come. "Somebody get out there and check it out." The corporal spoke again, his voice was somewhat weak. He continued to lay with his back against the wall, but tried to move in order to peep around the corner.

At first, there was some hesitation among the group.

Until one finally volunteered, "I'll go."

They looked at the man. There he was, gun trained on the doorway, waiting, somewhat nervous, but brave enough to volunteer.

"Are you sure, Cloud?"

The blonde merely nodded.

"We'll cover you." the corporal assured him.

Cloud looked back at the corporal. Elias wondered whether the blonde raised an eyebrow at this. Imagine, here's a guy who was hurt bad, his vision probably double, a single pistol in his shaky hand, completely hidden away from enemy view, telling Cloud that he will cover him. It was kinda funny.

But Elias couldn't see the blonde's eyes for it was covered by the helmet.

Cloud descended the stairs, his footsteps thumping as loudly as his heart. As he approached the doorway, he moved cautiously, as if it was a wild animal. With an outstretched rifle, he quickly peeped around the right of the doorway, then to the left.

He was quiet for a few moments.

The legionnaires raised their guns and waited. Finally, Cloud flashed a thumbs up at them.

Somewhat relieved, the men slowly approached the blonde.

Elias' attention was caught by the dead Shinra soldier that sprawled on the couch. His position was kinda funny.

"Hey, the corporal!"

"Oh jeez!" one of the men slapped his palm on his helmet, raced back up the stairs, and came back after a minute, supporting the limping officer.

The radioman bounced the solid radio on his back in discomfort and impatience before muttering a "Let's keep moving." at the group. They quickly left the house and proceeded on their way.

(end of flashback)

Tifa froze for a minute. She suddenly felt sick about this particular chapter of the story. They were there- Cloud was there, in that house, and she didn't notice or even tried to notice!

"After that, Kyle was killed by a sniper." Elias looked back at Tifa, "You okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Please continue." Tifa tried to unfreeze herself and continue listening to the story so as not to be rude.

"So there, he was killed. Actually, he didn't die on the spot. We just couldn't get to him in time."

"Were you able to find the sniper?"

"Well," the legionnaire played with his fingers, "that's the thing with snipers. You never know they're there and where they are until somebody gets shot."

Tifa nodded in understanding.

"We were told to get to Vexin avenue and rendezvous with some friendly armor that were supposed to bring us out of Edge. But, seeing how that place is overun," he took a deep breath, "I don't know."

Tifa didn't say anything and allowed Elias to continue.

"We made it to Vexin. But unfortunately, our ride wasn't due to show up until another three days. Yeah, it pissed us off. Anyway, we took the time to look for any stragglers so that we can bring them with us." the legionnaire looked deeply into Tifa's eyes. "And that... Is when I found you."

She looked away, smiling, "Xavier plaza is awfully a far and dangerous place to be looking for survivors."

Elias sighed, "Yeah well, I just kept walking and walking. Next thing I know, I saw a young woman all curled-up and crying."

Tifa giggled to hide her blush.

"Would you like me to continue the story or would you like to continue it for me?"

The woman smiled, "Nah, I wouldn't want to spoil it." she saw Elias smile back at her. She watched as he stood up, fixed his dirty clothes, and then was surprised when she suddenly found herself holding a pistol in her hands.

"Know how to use one of those?"

"Well, a little," She cautiously studied the firearm, remembering one time when Vincent showed her a thing or two about using a gun. She could remember it clearly. They were in the Highwind that time, going somewhere she couldn't recall.

She remembered how difficult it was to aim, much less fire it at some paper targets. She remembered the look on Cid's face when he barged out of the cockpit and scolded them about the bullets hitting the ship. She laughed as he cursed at every shot that was fired.

"Be careful, it's loaded." Elias snapped her back to reality.

"Thanks, but I'm more content on fighting melee."

"But it's worthless if they wouldn't even let you near them in the first place."

Tifa sighed. He did have a point.

"Hold on to it, just in case." the legionnaire helped her up.

Tifa turned the weapon around, careful not to point the nozzle at Elias or herself, and searched for the safety switch. All weapons have a safety switch, Vincent once told her. It will help prevent an accidental discharge.

But still, Vincent said, the safest is when no bullet, not even a single one, is loaded in the weapon.

She eventually found the safety switch and made sure that the safety was on. After that, she tucked the weapon between her belt and her pants. "Elias, let's go."

"You sure about coming this time?"

Tifa closed her eyes and breathed calmly, "I believe."

The legionnaire nodded and opened the door.

It was already dusk and as the two neared their destination, the number of Shinra soldiers increased. There was even a time where in they had to hide in a small trench on the side of the road, pressing themselves hard against the soil as Shinra tanks rolled past.

Vexin avenue was near the edge of the city and so the roads there are not yet fully developed. For now, the place was a small agricultural land of sorts with dirt roads that formed a simple mean of automobile travel.

There had been plans on transforming the dirt roads into cemented roads but the funding that was allocated for this project had to be diverted to assist in another project that aimed to provide water around the area.

For the meantime, the dirt roads were meticuously smoothened out for cars to pass without difficulty.

The area around Vexin avenue is an important agricultural area for Edge. Most of their produce and food come from here. And since this place is pretty near Midgar, it also provides these same necessities to the residents of Midgar. It was no wonder why Shinra forces were interested in this place. It was a flat land, large enough to hold an entire army. It also had food in which Shinra can take for themselves, and it was a strategic place in which to strike at Midgar.

The only thing was that Avalanche never expected them to take this area quickly.

The commanders' strategy had failed miserably. They all knew that Edge will fall against the might of the Shinra army; It was supposed to be part of the Avalanche commanders' plan.

They were supposed to send in a quarter of a legion in Edge to defend the city. As they held back the invading Shinra army, they will buy some time for the remaining three-fourths of the legion to gather up at the edge of Midgar and for the artillery batteries to be sent in and repositioned.

The agricultural land around Vexin avenue was a prime target of Shinra and so, they will move as fast as they could to take that place. By the time Shinra supposed to have reached Vexin avenue, as the commanders hoped, the Avalanche artillery batteries and the three-fourth legion would have been in position and ready.

And while Shinra was slowly gathering their scattered forces(due to the quarter of a legion that was defending the city) in this land, these batteries would've fired at Vexin avenue, further diminishing the scattered Shinra forces.

Then, the waiting Avalanche army at the edge of Midgar would storm in, finish off the Shinra stragglers, and retake Edge.

But it was the other way around. The blitzkrieg of the Shinra army was so fast that the commanders were completely shocked and unable to anticipate it. Now, it was the Shinra mobile artilleries that were in the agricultural land, aimed at Midgar.

Right now, the commanders had to withdraw the army from the edge of Midgar and cancel the positioning of the artillery batteries or else Shinra would have a clear shot at them.

Now all Shinra had to do was regroup its army and then, they will be ready to strike Midgar.

Elias' heart was pounding madly on his chest. Almost everywhere he looked there was a Shinra soldier. He was beginning to be apprehensive about coming all the way here.

They moved away from the roads and entered one of the small woods to get to the other side. Vexin avenue was now only about two blocks away.

As they walked through the woods, they heard gunshots. Then they heard dull thuds around them.

"They've found us!" Tifa said.

"Yay. Now I should be jumping for joy." Elias pushed Tifa down on the ground. He too ducked down and looked around him for the enemy.

Bullets hit tree trunks with dull thuds, creating small holes on the trunks and causing splinters to spark off. Tifa studied the bullet damage on the tree next to her and looked at the direction the hole was facing. Sure enough, she saw some Shinra soldiers amongst the trees.

She then heard extremely loud gunfire near her. One of the Shinra soldiers suddenly held his tummy and crumpled to the ground. The others scattered, finding trees to hide in.

"Tifa, this would like, be the best time to use that pistol." Elias remarked as the dust around him kicked up.

But Tifa didn't notice him. She counted to three, stood, and ran to the side. She jumped, planting her foot on one tree then propelling herself onto another tree. From this tree, she propelled herself again, getting closer and closer to the black-clad soldiers.

On the last tree, she placed both of her feet firmly on the trunk, gathered strength, and propelled herself straight to the soldiers. She focused herself on the one nearest to her.

As she approached the man, she positioned herself for a powerful kick. But as soon as she reached him, she saw blood puff from his chest. As the man fell, Tifa immediately repositioned herself and unleashed her kick on the other man to her left. The force of the kick broke his mask and snapped his neck.

She landed with both legs spread apart and a hand placed on the ground. The attention of the remaining five soldiers were now on her. From her position, Tifa sprinted towards the other soldier and delivered a powerful blow on his midsection.

As the man flew backwards, another soldier came up to her right and fired his gun at her. Tifa spun and used the flying man as cover. The bullets killed the soldier. Tifa then kicked the ground, sending soil and small rocks hitting the face mask of the one who fired. He was stunned for a moment.

She side stepped as a soldier charged from behind her, his bayonet up. She then spun and kicked the rifle off his hands, sending it flying towards another man who aimed at her. The bayonet went straight through his chest causing the man to fall backwards, firing his gun in the process.

She then kneed the disarmed soldier, forcing him to hunch over. When he did so, Tifa delivered a powerful blow to his back. The man dropped to the ground and didn't move.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw three more soldiers entering the fray. Before she could react, she saw Elias firing his gun at the three of them, "Yeah, well. You can take care of that army while I take care of this squad!" he yelled at her.

By this time, more soldiers entered the battle. Tifa faced four of them. She delivered blows to the newcomers, moving at a speed that dumbfounded the four men as they were unable to recover and fight back.

Once she has taken care of them, she approached Elias. He held a bloody stabbing sword in one hand and a pistol in the other.

"Hey, how was it?" the legionnaire spoke.

"Tiring." Tifa smiled, "You okay?" she looked behind the man and saw five dead soldiers. The two of them were extremely lucky that the woods and the darkness had showered them their blessings.

"I couldn't believe I just killed five of them single-handedly! How about you, how many did you get?"

Tifa shrugged, embarrassed to tell him that she took down eight. But there was one who escaped though. She looked down and blushed, noticing a patch of blood on Elias' leg gradually growing larger. "Elias, you're hit!" she pointed.

The worry in her eyes compelled the legionnaire to look down at his leg, "Well I'll be..." he muttered, before the pain kicked in and his injured leg buckled under his weight.

Tifa caught her friend before he completely fell. "Come on, let's go."

Elias groaned as he found it extremely difficult to walk.

Once they left the woods, she put the man down in the trench on the side of the road. There were almost no enemy soldiers in this area they were in. Probably they haven't expanded yet. At least for now, it was a safe place.

Elias watched as Tifa began to examine his injury. She was beautiful. The way the moonlight illuminated her raven black hair, the smoothness of her face, the sparkle in her ruby eyes as it was filled with concern, the kindness in her face, and her sweet disposition. And to think, she is now risking her life just to find her beloved. No wonder Cloud was head over heels over her.

Yep, he was one lucky blonde.

Tifa was absolutely amazing. And Elias was extremely lucky to have known her and be her friend. He began to relax as her touch soothed him of his injury. Ah yes, that loving touch of hers too. So caring, so motherly, so...

"GAH!" he jumped. "Be careful!"

"I'm sorry!" she whispered hoarsely, "But I have to do this, now be quiet or they might find us here!"

"Yeah, like, who would find us in this barren place?"

Just then, they heard motorized vehicles approaching.

"And you were saying?" Tifa said, ducking down while Elias looked up.

"Yeah, yeah." He squinted his eyes to see what it was. It then grew wide in surprise, "Tifa look!"

"What?" her head popped beside him.

Elias pointed at a large truck, "See that?"

"It's a Shinra truck." she stated.

"Shinra 'POW' truck!" Elias corrected, emphasizing on the letters, 'POW'.

Tifa looked clueless.

"POW means Prisoner Of War!"

Tifa gasped, "You mean-"

Elias nodded, "Shinra will not bring a Prisoner of war truck in here if there were no prisoners, right?"

"But, how can we get to it?" Tifa was right. The truck was being escorted by eight soldier-filled jeeps and two troop transport trucks. Four jeeps and a truck in front, and another four jeeps and a truck at the back.

"At least it's approaching. When it comes, grab onto it." Elias said.

"How about you?"

"I'll cover your back."

"Against all those soldiers? I don't think so."

The convoy was already approaching them. It had already turned onto the road and was a few blocks away.

"What other choice do we have?" Elias retorted.

Tifa was already getting worried, "But there must be some other way, I'm not leaving you behind!"

"I've already done my part in here, Tifa, and I'm so glad to have known you." The convoy was already three blocks away.

What the legionnaire was about to do began to sink in, "But Elias!" Her eyes started to form tears.

"Tifa, I'm sorry." he looked away from her, "I can go no further." The convoy was two blocks away.

"At least, don't let them see you."

"Then how will you survive?" The convoy was now only a block away.

Tifa let a single tear roll down her cheek. Then another came afterwards.

"Go!" the legionnaire took his rifle and held it firmly in his hands. The convoy was now a few meters away.

"You are not going to go through this, Private Elias Sodder," Tifa was frustrated. Another tear rolled down her cheek. In desperation she added, "That's an order!"

Elias tried to hide the smile that crept up to his lips. But he frowned again, and showed her just how darn serious he was, "Damnit Tifa, you made a promise to me that you are going to find Cloud! Now I'm going to make sure you keep it!"

"Elias..." the convoy was now a few feet away. She tried to think of other ways in order for him not to push through with it. But time was running short. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Now go!"

Tifa knew she lost. Right now a good friend was about to sacrifice himself for both Cloud and herself and there was nothing she could do. With trembling hands, she threw herself upon him. "I'll never forget you Elias. Thank you." she closed her eyes and allowed the remaining tears to fall.

"Thank you for everything Tifa." Elias knew it was kinda rude but he had to push her off, "Now go. It's already here."

The woman nodded and jogged parallel to the vehicles. When the truck was near, she went to the road and jumped, grabbing a ladder that was installed on the side of the truck. She then hoisted herself up on it and laid flat on the roof.

Behind the truck, she saw one of the jeeps explode. The rest of the vehicles behind stopped and began to defend themselves from the attack. As she lost sight of the vehicles, the sounds of gunfire and explosions continued.

When it stopped, Tifa looked up at the sky and watched as the stars twinkled beautifully, "Elias, finally, the war is over for you. You had kept your promise to your family."

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A/N Ah, drama moments. :-)

Hope you enjoyed sitting back, listening to your music, and then scrolling down the page.  
Now it's time to enjoy pressing the review button and leaving me a word or two. Hehehe. 


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